Additional Misconceptions In The Tech World

#1: If your computer is working fine right now, it does not need any maintenance.

I don’t think people really think this, but I find that people often will not have their computer worked on until it’s too late. If everything is working fine, I won’t get a call. There are several maintenance checks that should be done regularly. Not only should this be considered preventative maintenance, but during this Tune-Up Process, a technician can notice things that most people wouldn’t.

Lack of system maintenance is one of the most common causes of data loss and/or  heavy computer repair bills.

#2: The maintenance tools provided in the Microsoft Operating System and software are all the maintenance you need.

This is a common and terrible misconception, similar to the idea that any antivirus program is fine as long as you have something. Microsoft doesn’t even come close to providing the programs and features which can protect your data from viruses, hackers and data loss or prevent your PC from running slowly.

Additionally, Microsoft (and other software vendors for that matter) are constantly providing critical patches and updates to their software to protect you from viruses and hackers. However, if you don’t know to look for them, or if you don’t know how to install them properly, you could easily end up getting burned.

#3: My nephew/neighbor’s kid/brother-in-law knows this computer stuff and can help me solve my problems.

This one is actually my favorite because it gets me more business! Jokes aside, not all technicians are created equal, and I have run into countless machines which have clear residue from past tinkering. Just because a person is good with computer applications (what we call a power user) does NOT mean they know how to properly maintain a PC or complex networks. Technicians also need to be well versed in the latest tech to ensure that you are not only getting the most for your money, but that everything you are using is statistically rated the most reliable. Reputable programs change all the time, and I know of many “technicians” who are using the same programs and processing that they have been using for 10+ years.

Most people look for a part time “guru” to help them save money, but this often comes back to haunt them. If the person you have working on your machine is not a licensed technician by trade, it is almost a certainty that they don’t have the knowledge and experience to help you in an effective and reliable manner. Technology advances at lightning speed and it takes constant learning and practice to master it. If your part-time technician is not working on PCs and networks every day, they probably only know enough to be dangerous.

#4: All computer technicians are created equal. Your best option will be the one who offers the lowest price.

For the most part, you get what you pay for. I have gained many regular clients who, when I first met them, had several cheap computers that all needed serious work done. Instead, I usually replace these computers with one or two good, middle of the road machines. Just as with computers, if the technician is the cheapest, it could just mean that they have no idea what they are doing. When it comes to your tech world, the cheapest anything could end up costing you time and money. 

PCMatic - Scam or Legit?

PCMatic.com

As soon as I saw this commercial, I was instantly reminded of the MyCleanPC and/or MaxMySpeed programs. I wrote a blog entry about it awhile back and it has actually gotten quite a few hits: http://mooreithelp.blogspot.com/2012/07/mycleanpccom-scam-or-legit.html

I’ve been meaning to write something regarding all these programs which claim to magically and quickly fix all your computer problems. Not only do these programs usually cost half of what real Internet Security programs cost, they claim that they will even make repairs and tune up a computer, making it run faster than ever. Many of them, including PC Pitstop PC Matic, claim that you will “never get a virus again” which is impossible. These registry cleaners and optimizers claim to speed up your computer by finding and removing orphaned and corrupt registry entries that are responsible for slowing down system performance. Unfortunately, the fact is that there is no statistical evidence to back such claims. These advertisements are borderline scams intended to goad users into using an unnecessary and potential dangerous product. I would not trust any results such programs detect as problematic or needing repair nor recommend using the options to fix them.

The registry is a crucial component of Windows, storing information and settings for all hardware, software, users, and preferences - basically the makeup of the Windows Operating System, to a degree. So, these programs which can aggressively scan and make violent changes to this system can render the system inoperable. Some may argue that these registry cleaners are required for specific types of infections, and that is true. However, improperly removing registry entries can make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. Removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified (and steps taken to remove said infection) can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.

I could delve into benchmark testing and detailed explanations as to how PCMatic and programs like it are basically advertising bold faced lies, and how its promises and "features" are borderline impossible, but to be frank - its not worth it. This program is just like all the other magic wands. Quickly, if you are willing to dig around the PC Matic web site, you will eventually find information about Super Shield, the proprietary real-time technology component to PC Matic. That page goes into a little detail about their use of a "white list" approach in addition to a "black list". Not mentioned is the company's use and explanation of its heuristic and behavioral detection technology. Aside from the numerous complaints filed against the company, the vendor's website doesn't specifically say how the product “protects against modern security threats”. They also fail to tell customers that their product has high false positive rates.

Expecting results similar to the MyCleanPC.com scams, I didn’t bother to do a scan on a test system like I did in MyCleanPC.com - Scam or Legit. I did, however, find that someone did it for me and it was exactly as I expected. Joe53 of SpywareHammer.com reported that the program found hundreds of "bad" registry entries on his system (which was working perfectly well), that his system had TCP connection problems (when he had no internet connection problems), extreme fragmentation of his hard drive (despite his regular use of Diskeeper), identified his System Restore files as "junk files", and suggested he delete them and identified that all his internet settings (HTTP, TCP, DNS et.al.) as needing to be optimized (despite the fact that SpeedTest measurements showed his connection and ping times to be well within parameters.)

Now,

Many people are starting to say that most of the negative press is from several years ago and that PCMatic has been perfecting itself over the past 4 years or so. To that, I respond with this very same article. The fact remains that this is a PRODUCT that claims to fix all your computer problems! It's half the price of a traditional, reputable AV and yet claims that it will not only REPLACE your Antivirus program, but that you will never get a virus again! The features and claims are so ridiculously silly, its not even worth a detailed examination. 

Symantec Norton presents Security Vulnerabilities to your Computer

For some time now, I have recommended users to steer clear of Symantec products, namely Norton.
I remind clients that though no antivirus or internet security program is completely infallible, I have encountered literately dozens of computers which were riddled with infections whilst a fully updated, paid version of Norton sat there with a great big green check mark reassuring the user that everything is just peachy!

Well, recently my claims have been further justified when security researcher Tavis Ormandy of Google's Project Zero Security discovered major security flaws within several internet security programs including Symantec Norton and Symantec Endpoint Security - the security solution most major industries use such as United Bank of Switzerland, Walmart and the Home Depot.

Project Zero security researcher Tavis Ormandy said:

"These vulnerabilities are as bad as it gets. They don't require any user interaction, they affect the default configuration, and the software runs at the highest privilege levels possible.

In certain cases on Windows, vulnerable code is even loaded into the kernel, resulting in remote kernel memory corruption."

No user interaction is required to exploit this issue as just "emailing a file to a victim or sending them a link to an exploit is enough to trigger it," according to Ormandy. Ormandy also reports that "A quick look at the decomposer library shipped by Symantec showed that they were using code derived from open source libraries like libmspack and unrarsrc, but hadn't updated them in at least seven years."

The problems mentioned in the article (as well as others referencing the discoveries) are not isolated to Symantec products. While I was working at Staples back when I was still learning the trade, I remember management pushing us Electronics Associates to sell versions of Panda Antivirus - one of the many reasons I quit as I knew Panda was absolute trash. In March of this year, both the free and enterprise versions of Panda Antivirus would report files from the System32 folder as malware, leaving computers inoperable after reboot.This would often result in systems loosing the networking functions (among other things) so Panda, in its infinite wisdom, released an update to fix the problem to be deployed....over the network. Yeah.

Several issues with the popular Comodo Antivirus program were discovered this year, which included the bundling of the program "GeekBuddy". This program installs and starts a poorly protected VNC server. This disclosure is actually the "fixed" version of this program, as disclosures made in 2015 noted that the VNC server had no password at all.

Trend Micro, another popular antivirus program, bundled a password manager which would launch a local web server that listens for API commands from the internet, without a whitelist or same origin policy—effectively allowing remote code execution. In a message to Trend Micro, Ormandy stated that "Anyone on the internet can steal all of your passwords completely silently, as well as execute arbitrary code with zero user interaction. I really hope the gravity of this is clear to you, because I'm astonished about this."

Several other programs have been found to have similarly major vulnerabilities. If you are interested, you can check out the full article HERE. My point with all of this information is that, as with most technical decisions, it is critical to have someone by your side with the knowledge and skill to both help to prevent these things from happening to you and to take action when things go awry.
Check out my reviews HERE and please do not hesitate to contact MooreITHelp.com at Help@MooreITHelp.com.

Microsoft Tricks Users Into Upgrading to Windows 10

After requesting assistance in configuring their computers after upgrading to Windows 10, I have had several customers claim that they did not agree to the upgrade to Microsoft's new OS of solid awesomeness. The customers said that they simply woke up one morning to find Windows 10 had been installed over night.

It turns out, Microsoft changed the Get Windows 10 dialogue box so that clicking the "X" to close the box caused the user to effectively agree to the scheduled upgrade to Windows 10, rather than dismiss the scheduled upgrade as had previously been the case. I was pretty surprised to discover this fact as it would put Microsoft in violation of its own user experience guidelines for developers on how to design dialog boxes. I am sure this will only exacerbate the conspiracy theories flying around the internet, but I too am wondering; Why all the effort? I mean, if it was just Windows 8 that was being so excitedly upgraded, then I would understand - Perhaps a big apology from Microsoft. But Windows 7 too? Windows 7 is tried and true! The "version 2.0" of XP, if you will.

Anyway,
I just thought I would publish this to let clients know - you werent imagining things and the upgrade wasn't your fault!

System Restore - Disable, or Not to Disable...

Most users are probably familiar with Windows System Restore and have probably fallen back on it on many occasions. For those of you unfamiliar with this feature, System Restore is a Windows utility that periodically saves changes made to the system and allows users to roll back the system to its previous state in the event of PC instability or program failures. The best part of System Restore is that it does not change any of the user files, such as Word documents or pictures. The program only rolls back things like changes made to the Registry, installed or uninstalled programs and Windows Updates.

However, in cases where the system is infected, System Restore might also be affected by infected system files and viruses. Being that System Restore monitors all Operating System files, installed programs and Windows registry settings, changes made to said components by an infection would also be backed up. Windows makes restore points automatically and does not check for any infection or malware present on your system. By design, the System Restore function doesn't allow any other program to handle files stored in the Restore folder. Virus removal programs such as Symantec have trouble clearing infected files from the System Restore folder. For example, in a system I recently repaired, a Kaspersky scan continued to show Trojan files trapped in files that begin with “C:\System Volume Information\_restore…”

While the internet can be a virtually endless wealth of information, it can also breed misinformation and half-cocked rumors. To that effect, many self-proclaimed technicians are under the impression that viruses in the System Restore will creep out of that folder and re-infect the system after an infection has been removed. The fact is, viruses in that folder are dormant and more or less harmless. They do not usually do anything while in that folder until a user activates said infected restore points by using them.

So the fact remains that these files should be removed, but not until after the system has been repaired and confirmed repaired so that System Restore can still be used for exactly what it was meant to be used for. Technicians are human beings, and human beings make mistakes. That's where System Restore comes in. This means that a blanket statement that you should always delete restore points may be a little excessive. Whether you should or not, depends on the infection, the time it occurred and whether system files were clean at the time the restore points were made.

All of these things considered reaffirms my emphasis on a reliable backup routine. Many enterprise environments don't even bother with removing infections - they just restore the user to the most recent backup.  This is also where Roaming Profiles (aka User Redirect) come into play. But that's all for another article...