Tuesday, March 29, 2011

5 Most Common Computer Problems


If you have a PC, then you have most likely suffered from computer problems. Most people have accepted that there PC will eventually crash due to a virus or some massive error. However this is a myth. Your PC is built to last more than a decade. However you must keep well tuned for it to make its third birthday. Nevertheless, most people would rather buy a shiny new PC rather than spend an hour trying to fix computer problems on there 2 year lap top or desktop. After another two year after their purchase lack of maintenance will cause their new PC to lose its performance speed. Whats next you guess, $3000 Windows Vista Ready PC. This is known as the consumer vicious cycle.

Why have does your computer have problems?

Well, the biggest problem that your computer has is its owner. More than 80% of computer problems stem from neglecting to perform simple maintenance task such as cleaning your registry, emptying your cache files and updating software regularly. If these task a perform diligently. You would be reading this article from a five year old machine running on Windows 98 operating system. So, lets take a look at the top five computer problems and how to avoid them.

1. Computer has performance has slowed.

This is the number one complaint from most users. There are several reason why this has occurred. However, most can attributed to lack of maintenance. Fragmented data, corrupted registry, spyware, and load of unnecessary programs and services running can all eat away at your PC speed and performance. Manage your programs and cleaning your registry would easily award you a 30% gain in performance speed. Check out The 4 ways to speed up my computer

2. Lockup, freezes, and blue screens of death.

This is a another common computer problem. However, this particular issue is a bit more serious; therefore, it needs a few diagnostic steps. In most cases this problems are caused by spyware. To avoid this problem update your anti-spyware program daily. Having the most up to date signatures will help you avoid having a serious spyware problem. However, if you have concluded that your PC is spyware free. You should update your hardware drivers. The computer cannot communicate with various hardware components without an up to date driver. When it cannot find a driver, the CPU locks up. Also, increasing your virtual memory can also help to avoid freezes. Virtual Memory will allow to you get more use out your computer's RAM. Check the resource box for more info on the subject.

3. The computer spontaneously reboots or turn itself off.

This computer problem can be usually attributed to a hardware issue. Usually its the power supply is dying or in most cases a dirty or defective cooling fan. The computer trying to cool itself by automatically switching off. So, if you feel a bit of extra heat coming out the computer. Clean the fan and make sure it running properly. If your fan is functional, check your power supply. Also, you will be surprised how many people fail to make sure the cables are attached tightly. This be the cause of this particular computer problem.

4. Strange noises and vibrations.

This is almost totally a hardware issue. You computer is made up of thousands of parts. Its not unheard of that one of them can become unhinged. Overheating can cause expansion of wires and melt some sensitive. High pitch noises such as squealing or whining sounds can be cause electronic components. Whatever the reason, you conduct a small investigation. Remove the case and run the computer to discover the origin of the computer problem. If its not a simple matter such as a loose wire or fan issue, it may be time to call a computer tech.

5. Your home page, default search engine, or web browser has changed itself.

This is also known as "high-jacking". Spyware has been installed on your computer via social networking or from email link. This action has allowed spyware to install a java script into your web browser. The spyware then sends a message to your browser to change your user settings. For example change your home page to another web page.

As you have discovered from reading the article, the most common computer problems can be handle quite easily by simple maintenance of your PC. Net time you are suffering from computer problems. Take a few minutes to run some diagnostic test before rushing out to computer technical center claiming your PC is broken. When all you need to do was just make sure it was plugged in.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

How to Fix a Slow Internet Problem


A slow Internet connection can be extremely frustrating when you are working online. You can contact a computer technician, but they will most likely charge you a large amount of money to just look at your computer. To avoid repair costs, there are some simple tricks you can try on your own to fix a slow Internet connection.

# Step 1: Run a virus scan on your computer. If your virus and spyware protection are up-to-date, the scan will detect any offenders and remove them from your computer.

# Step 2: Unplug your modem and wait a minute. Many times resetting a modem will fix the slow Internet connection.

# Step 3: Perform a system restore on your computer. This allows you to undo any harmful changes that you have made to your computer that could be causing the slower Internet.

# Step 4: Free up space on your hard drive. Routinely removing temporary Internet files and programs that you no longer use will help keep your computer running efficiently.
# Step 5: Test your connection. Many Internet providers will allow you to use their site to check to make sure that there is not a problem with your connection.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Computer Shut Down Problems


A computer is a magnet for problems. If you use your computer to surf online, you can collect many viruses and such. This article will help you if you ever have a problem with your computer shutting down before it even starts up.

# Step 1: Is this your problem? This problem comes on suddenly. You will know this is your problem if you computer shuts down for no reason.

# Step 2: Confirm your problem. You can do this by trying to restart your computer. When your computer gets to your desktop screen it will shut down again before any programs have a time to start.
This will not happen on a log in screen where you pick which user you are. You have to pick the user you had this problem on for a true confirmation.

# Step 3: Go ahead and restart your computer again. When it goes to the first screen there will be options for you to do before the screen disappears.

# Step 4: Locate which button you have to press for a system recovery. It will say something like "F11 - System Recovery."

# Step 5: Press the correct button on your keyboard corresponding with System Recovery before the screen disappears. If you missed your opportunity, let the computer restart and try again.

# Step 6: This should bring you to a system recovery wizard. Tell this wizard you want to recover to a previous date. Follow the instructions. When you get to a page where it asks you what point you want to restore to, pick a restore point two or more days before the day your problem began.

# Step 7: Finish the wizard and restart your computer. It should now load up the programs and a message should eventually appear saying something like "System Recovery Successful."

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

How to fix no Sound Problem in Computer?


There are a number of different reasons why your computer may no longer give sound. If you have this problem, read on to learn how to diagnose the problem and resolve your PC's loss of sound.

A) Check the Speaker Connections and Volume Control Settings

Step 1.
Verify that the lack of sound is not due to faulty speaker connections. A simple way to test it is to substitute the speaker connection with headphones and see if you get any sound.

Step 2.
Open the volume control window by clicking your "Start" button and then "All Programs." Click "Accessories," then "Entertainment," then "Volume Control." Alternatively, just click on the speaker icon that's in your System Tray.

Step 3.
Check the volume and mute settings. If any of the mute check boxes have been checked, uncheck them. If this doesn't work, read on.


B) Perform a System Restore If Necessary

Step 1.
If the sound has been audible from your computer's speakers and is suddenly lost, you may need to perform a System Restore. Click on the " Start" button and then "All Programs."

Step 2.
Click on "Accessories," then "System Tools," then "System Restore."

Step 3.
Complete the System Restore Wizard. If this doesn't work, read on.


C) Delete and Reinstall the Original Sound Drivers
Step 1.
Deleting and reinstalling your sound driver may resolve the problem. Your sound driver may have been corrupted or may be missing. The result of this is that the restore utility menu won't be available. For Windows XP, follow these steps.

Step 2.
Click on your "Start" button. Click on "Control Panel" and then "System." Next, click on "Hardware," then "Device Manager, then "Sound, Video and Game Controllers."

Step 3.
Click on a sound device named in the Device Manager, and then press the Delete key on the keyboard. Click "OK" in the window that appears. Remove all the listed sound devices i this way EXCEPT Audio Codec and Legacy Audio Drivers.

Step 4.
Restart your computer. Reinstall the deleted drivers using the Driver and Application Recovery CDs that came with your Windows XP system.

Step 5.
Visit your computer manufacturer's official website. Check for any updated sound driver software for your sound card. If any, download them along with the installation instructions.

Top 10 Computer Virus


Nimda

Nimda (backwards for “admin”) is a top 10 deadliest computer virus since it is a malicious worm and file infector. It was originally released in 2001 and targeted Internet servers. The virus spread by use of e-mail, open network shares, compromised or “fake” websites, Internet Explorer 5.5 and by exploitation of Microsoft 4.0/5.0 directory vulnerabilities. If the virus was received by e-mail the message would appear blank. Once the computer was infected by any of these methods it created a backdoor and modified Web documents or executable files.
Storm Worm

The Storm Worm is a Trojan horse virus that affects computers that use Microsoft operating systems. It is spread by use of email attachment. Using catchy email headings like “Death Toll in China exceeding 100,000” it lured unsuspecting people into opening them. Once the attachment is opened, malware was installed that infected the computer and downloaded malicious packets which were spread to other computers. The computer is then made into a zombie “botnet” which becomes attached to the Storm Worm server and used to forward the virus to other computers. This nasty virus has affected major networks including Comcast and Roadrunner. It is considered one of the top 10 deadliest computer viruses since it cannot be detected by antivirus programs due to its encrypted design.

Bagle (Netsky)

Bagle (Netsky) is a malicious computer virus that can affect all versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is thought to be created in Germany by using the assembly programming language. Bagle uses a SMTP engine to email itself on a massive scale. The email recipient will find the virus as an attachment. When opened it copies itself into the Windows system directory it opens TCP port 6777 or 8866. This creates a backdoor that provides remote access to the computer. It also spreads by using the infected computers e-mailing network. It was first discovered in January 2004. As of June 2010, the Bagle virus continues to remain a nuisance to computer users through new morphed versions.
SQL Slammer

SQL Slammer was a computer virus that caused denial of service (DDoS) and slowed down general Internet traffic. In 2003 over 75,000 machines were affected within 10 minutes. It worked by exploiting a bug in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (which has since been updated).The SQL Slammer code generates random IP addresses and then sends itself out to those addresses. If a particular address is running a non-updated copy of the Microsoft SQL Server resolution service the computer becomes infected. The virus then spreads copies of itself on the Internet.

Code Red Virus

The Code Red virus attacked computers using Microsoft IIS 2.0 Web server and Windows 2000 indexing. The computers that were vulnerable to it used Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. The computer virus was released in July 2001. It worked by exploiting a vulnerability in the in the IIS indexing software. The result was defacement of websites which would display the following phrase: “HELLO! Welcome to http://www.worm.com! Hacked By Chinese!” It then would launch denial of service attacks (DDoS) about 30 days later on several IP addresses.


ILOVEYOU

Top 10 Deadliest Computer VirusesNo one would think that the phrase “I love you” would result in being one of the top 10 deadliest computer viruses. It originated in 2000 as an email to Windows computer users that included the subject heading “ILOVEYOU” along with a file attachment. After opening the attachment, the worm virus would send a copy of itself to every email address in the victims contact list by using the users sending address. It also made unwanted malicious changes to their system by overwriting files and making more copies of itself.

Leap or Oompa-Loompa Virus

This is a LAN spreading Trojan horse virus that affected Mac OS X operating systems. Once the computer was infected it altered application files. Discovered in 2006, the virus was spread over a local area network using the Bonjour iChat instant message program. The virus then attempts to prompt the user to login with the administrator password. If successful it infected the user’s software applications that were recently opened with a login password. After this the application programs would not open. The Leap virus was further spread by sending emails to all contacts in the users Bonjour buddy list.

MyDoom (Novars)

MyDoom is a top 10 deadliest computer virus worm since it affected users of Windows operating systems. It originated in 2004 and spread by email and through the Kazaa peer-to-peer network. The worm arrives as an email message attachment. It then created a backdoor by opening TCP ports 3127 through 3198. Once the computer was compromised, it accessed network resources. The virus was also designed to release a denial of service attack (DDoS).

The Klez Virus

Klez is a virus that behaved like a worm or a Trojan horse. Klez first arrived in 2001 as an email attachment targeted at computers that used Microsoft Windows operating systems. When opened, it stole all email addresses in the users contact list and on the compromised computer’s hard drive. The virus did not stop there. It infected program applications and disabled antivirus software. Then the virus waited for thirteen days, and corrupted the victim’s personal files and any network drive attached to their computer.

Melissa Virus

Melissa was the original top 10 deadliest computer viruses that appeared in the 1990’s. It was a macro virus that spread on Microsoft Word 97/2000 and Microsoft Excel 97/2000/20003 documents. It was first seen in the late 90’s. If an infected document was opened, the virus attempted to send out mass emails using the attached computer’s address book. It was also capable of deleting critical computer files. Other variations of the virus affected address books of Microsoft Outlook users or destroyed Excel documents. It was later discovered that the Melissa virus was the creation of David L. Smith. He was arrested and convicted to 20 months in prison in 1999. Ironically, he ended up working for the FBI to help them track down viruses and the people who created them. As for the Melissa virus, many variations became obsolete once it was discovered that it left traces of itself in the Windows Registry.