CCAR Help :: Technical Training and Support » Microsoft

Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 18

Jared White — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:27:48 +0000

• Go ahead, give it the boot!

o Boot options for repair (for users and Tech’s alike)

The following information could possibly help you avoid using the services of a Tech person in the event your computer does not start up properly.

I believe in arming the real estate agent with information that could perhaps save a great deal of time and money. I say this because if your computer does not come to a login screen or keeps restarting, you may be able to resolve the issue very quickly yourself and I will tell you how. Let’s say you turn on your computer and you get a blue screen with text and then it continually reboots. Or, when you boot your computer you notice that you never get to a login screen, or it sits there forever and never makes it to the desktop. What you want to do next falls into 3 choices below from the screenshot below that.

I usually resolve issues in the following order. How you get the boot options to come up is when you first turn on your computer, tap the F8 key once every second until you see the black boot screen in the screenshot below. Up/down arrows will allow you to highlight an option and then click the enter key:

1) Last known good configuration

o This is an easy choice. If there has been a change such as a driver or a program has been installed that is now causing your system to not boot up properly, you may be able to reverse the effects of the install by choosing this option.

2) Repair your computer

o Let’s say you tried the last known good configuration option and that has not worked for you. You can choose this option and what it attempts to do is replace or repair the startup files that may have been affected that are causing the boot issue.

3) Safe mode with networking

o There are times when even though you cannot get to a login screen or to your desktop through a normal boot, you may be able to reach your desktop by choosing this option. If you are able to get to your desktop with this option, then there is a good chance that an installed program is what is keeping you from getting to your desktop with a typical boot. Safe mode with networking temporarily stops drivers and processes from loading up which may be at fault. If you can get to your desktop with this option and you remember that just before your computer crashed that a program was installed, then you can uninstall the offending program from this option and reboot again and perhaps everything will return back to normal.

So as you can see, there are a number of potential quick fixes that can often result in returning your system back to a normal state in less time that it takes to call a Tech, let alone waiting for them to arrive to your location.

Incidentally, this is the last article of the Windows 7 series. We will rotate the articles in this series from time to time. I hope you have enjoyed and learned something from these articles. I wish you many happy years of use of your Windows 7 computer armed with the information in these articles.

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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CCAR does not guarantee the reliability or quality of any of the products, links, software, or hardware of the vendors mentioned in CCAR Help Blog articles. Nor do we have a vested interest in any of those entities whatsoever. You hereby acknowledge that any reliance upon or use of any of the aforementioned shall be at your sole risk. CCAR reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without any obligation, to make improvements to, or correct any error or omissions in any portion of the information presented on this site.

Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 17

Jared White — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:58:39 +0000

I need my old file back, what do I do?

o Enter Shadow Copies

Here is something you may not know. There is a way to restore previous versions of files in Vista and Windows 7. Most systems right out of the box will have the settings for Shadow Copies turned on by default and this will allow you to restore an older version of a file.

To do this, locate the file or folder where you normally keep the file you are looking for the previous version of, right-click on the file or folder that appears to be from a date that was just prior to the point where something had gone wrong. Then select Restore Previous Versions to see what’s available (see below). From the Previous Versions dialog for a folder, you can open the folder and drag the file or files from inside the folder (or the folder itself) to anywhere you wish, such as the desktop. Once you have relocated your file or folder you can verify the version is the correct one you were looking for.

In the next article you will learn how to choose boot options when your computer is having issues.

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 16

Jared White — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:22:25 +0000

Restoring hope

o Turning back the hands of time

So here’s the situation: Your computer was working fine recently but it seems that now your browser has been crashing or you can’t get on to Paragon, or you have been getting errors. What do you do? As Tech’s, we like to look at a number of possibilities but when adjustments made to correct the issue or issues do not result in success, a great tool is System Restore.

System Restore can turn back the hands of time to a date you know your system was working. It will not alter data files so there is no reason to worry. How you (or we) run this process is by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. It can take a few minutes to come up after you have clicked on the icon. You will have 2 options. Select the one that says “Choose a different restore point”. From there you pick a date that you are certain was before the point of failure.

You can also click the check box Show more restore points for more date ranges. It is better to go back a few days or even a week or more before the point you know your computer was working right, just to be on the safe side if you are unsure. After System Restore runs, your system will reboot. If this process still does improve the situation, you may have a virus or Malware or something else going on. Sometimes System Restore fails to roll back or if the System Restore succeeds, it may not fix the particular issue you are having. This is where you may need to seek out a Tech person or us at CCAR.

In the next article you will learn how to recover a file you had deleted or improperly changed and get back the old version.

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 14

Jared White — Mon, 24 May 2010 18:38:42 +0000

Help, I’m under attack

o Malware prevention, removal, and peace of mind

I’ve also created a separate, more complete article on Malware and how to spot the symptoms and the removal process but this abbreviated version can still help you. The key points to remember are that if you find that your computer has a pop-up that indicates you have a bunch of virus’s and you sense that this may not be true, or your computer is running very slow, or if you type in a web page you are taken to another site than the one you were trying to get to – you may have Malware. There are a number of free programs that can be used to remove Malware.

Here are 2 programs I use to remove Malware. If you want more information on spotting and removing Malware see my article titled “Malware, Help I’m Under Attack! It is located on ccarhelp.com. That article includes much more detail and a couple more free programs you can use. If you select Malwarebytes from the link below, make sure you select Perform full scan as seen in the picture at the bottom. I have used this program with great success for quite some time. Remember, it will ask you to reboot after a scan. Make sure you do so.

In the next article you will learn how to make backup discs of your system and as an added bonus how to back up your data in a very simple way.

MalwareBytes: http://malwarebytes.org

SuperAntiSpyWare: http://superantispyware.com

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft’s Security Tools Are Good Enough

Jared White — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:34:50 +0000

When it comes to keeping your Windows PC secure, all of the scare tactics and overblown virus stories out there make it hard to feel safe online. The fact of the matter is that you don’t need to pay for Windows security

From time to time we like to go on long, opinionated rants about subjects that bug us. This is one of those times. So let’s have a frank and honest discussion about Windows security, and leave the scare tactics and FUD for money-grubbing corporate marketers

Microsoft Security Essentials is a Great Antivirus Application

The release of Microsoft Security Essentials has changed the landscape of antivirus software. We’ve finally got a completely free application that protects against viruses, spyware, and other malware—without killing system performance like some of the “suites” tend to do. In my personal experience, it barely slows down the machine and rarely affects my work—and during a deliberate attempt to download some viruses (for testing purposes), it immediately found and blocked them from doing anything..

You don’t have to take my word for it, however. Not only did AV-Test.org find that it detects 98% of their enormous malware database, but AV-Comparatives (a widely known anti-malware testing group) found that MSE was one of only three products that did well at both finding and removing malware, including the leftovers. It was also the only free product to grab their “Advanced+” rating—the top honor for an anti-malware solution.

The more tech-oriented readers will probably note that MSE does not do any fancy heuristics to detect viruses that aren’t in the database already, which is a feature offered by some paid solutions. In my opinion, this feature is usually unnecessary and a massive system drag if combined with a healthy dose of not installing questionable nonsense.

Stop Whining About “Outbound” Firewalls

Every time I read an article about the built-in Windows Firewall, I see comments complaining that they use Zone Alarm or some other software because they handle “Outbound” connections. Let’s put it on the table—the Windows Firewall has plenty of capability for handling outbound connections if you really need that level of paranoia. In fact, if you just look through your start menu you’ll find a link for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. You can head into there and pretty much configure any setting that you can possibly imagine, getting right down to the port level if you want.

The fact of the matter, however, is that outbound firewalls on a desktop PC are completely pointless. If the malware has made its way onto your computer, you have already lost the war. Your PC now belongs to whoever is running the botnet, and your outbound firewall isn’t going to stop it—after all, the malware can simply add a rule to the firewall to allow access. It’s better to focus on keeping malware off your PC in the first place.

Let’s not forget that most of us are using a router with a firewall built right into it, and as long as you aren’t using easily-cracked WEP encryption, you should be perfectly safe behind your firewall.

User Account Control (UAC) is Not a Security Tool

The single most irritating feature introduced in Windows Vista was those annoying UAC prompts, asking you for permission to do nearly anything on your computer—and the fact is, even if it makes you feel more secure, it’s a false sense of security. Malware researchers at SophosLabs found that 8 of 10 malware samples can actually bypass UAC on a system with the default Windows 7 settings.

The fact of the matter is that unless you’ve pushed the UAC slider all the way to the top, it’s not meant to be a security feature. The original intent was to change the way Windows works so that you can more easily run software as a standard user account, instead of running as administrator all the time. So there you have it—if you aren’t going to run as a standard user or turn the slider all the way to the top, you may as well disable UAC.

Keep Windows Updated

When it comes to protecting yourself, it’s laughable how many people install multiple antivirus applications but don’t keep their system updated with the latest operating system patches. Last April, the Conficker worm was exploiting and spreading on millions of PCs through a critical security hole in Windows—one that had been patched the previous October.

If everybody would simply keep their systems patched, we wouldn’t have to worry so much about these problems. If the constant rebooting action of Windows Update has you frustrated, you can always temporarily delay Windows Update’s forced reboot, or just make it not restart your PC automatically—but you should always have Windows Update running at all times.

Keep Applications Like Acrobat and Flash Updated, or Uninstall Them

Even though we’re complaining about people not keeping Windows updated, the fact of the matter is that the most likely cause of drive-by malware infection these days is through your browser plugins. Adobe Flash is notoriously full of security holes, and the latest attacks have been using vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat to infect your PC without installing a thing—just go to the wrong site that redirects you in a hidden frame to a PDF file containing the exploit, and your system can be exploited.

Keeping your applications updated is critically important to protecting your security. Your firewall won’t protect you, and an antivirus software is unlikely to help if you’re using an old, vulnerable version of Flash in your browser—what you need is a piece of software that scans your PC and makes sure that you are using the latest, patched versions. We’ve got you covered with the five best software update tools for any OS, but my personal recommendation for Windows is for Secunia PSI.

Stop Downloading Questionable Files

There’s a little-known fact that I don’t usually tell anybody, but I’m going to share with you today: I haven’t used real-time antivirus software on my PC in 10 years, and I’ve never been infected with a virus. About once a year, I run through an online virus scanner to make sure that my claim still holds true, and it’s never happened.

How have I managed that, while being a geek and testing software all the time? There’s a couple of simple rules that will protect you:

• Use an online scanner like VirusTotal to scan questionable files before installing them.

• Don’t download and install those questionable files in the first place.

• Use some common sense. That pre-release copy of the latest video game you got from a torrent? Yeah, it probably has a virus in it.

So what do you say? Are the built-in tools, combined with Microsoft Security Essentials, good enough for you, or are you going to stick with the full paranoia route? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.

The How-To Geek thinks a little common sense and system patches goes a long, long way towards a secure system. His geeky articles can be found daily here on Lifehacker, How-To Geek, and Twitter.

Send an email to How-To Geek, the author of this post, at lowell@lifehacker.com.

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Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 13

Jared White — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:21:43 +0000

Update time!

o Update options and a better world

Updates are VERY important for both a stable system as well as to protect against attacks. There are several settings that you can set the updates as seen in the screenshot below. The choice that is highlighted is not one I recommend. The reason is, many times a user will be working on an important document or in the case of my wife, taking an online test and not notice the message in the corner indicating the system needs to reboot after downloading the updates (It asks if you want to postpone, but it can be hard to see with programs open) and then it forcibly shuts down the computer. This can happen if you leave the room for even 10 minutes.

To add insult to injury, if someone is working on an important document of urgent matter or taking a test and the reboot takes place, when this happens, it takes even more time than usual because it has to configure your updates – and at a time that is NOT at all convenient.

In my opinion, the best choice is “Download updates but let me choose whether to install them” (not the choice that is highlighted below).

In the next article you will learn how to remove Malware from your system to save time and money!

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 12

Jared White — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:40:09 +0000

Don’t put out the fire…….WALL!

o The Firewall, your coat of armor

This is more of a checklist than an article but a quite important one at that. The key to one critical area of security is to make your firewall is turned on, and the basic settings are at default. Go to Start, Control Panel, Windows Firewall and look for the screen similar to the one below.

As a note in some cases, a Tech person may have made changes to specifically allow certain applications to communicate past the firewall so all you want to do here is make sure the basic settings match the ones below in the picture. Other than that, for the real estate agent, there really is nothing else that needs to be configured unless you are running a unique program that requires what is called an acceptance rule which is handled by a Tech person when that is needed on those rare occasions.

Overall, there should be no need to make changes yourself beyond making sure the firewall is turned on as seen below.

In the next article you will learn about updates and the proper setting for receiving and installing updates.

Note: slowness can also be the result of Malware which we will cover in a separate article.

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 11

Jared White — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:51:32 +0000

• I need a tune-up and an aspirin by Richard Tausch

o Uninstalling Programs, Defragmenting, and msconfig (for Pro’s only)

So let´s say you´ve clicked on internet explorer or opened up program and things seem to be running very slow, or when you boot up, it takes a lot longer to get to the desktop than it used to. Well have no fear, there may be a few simple things you (or a Tech person) can do to speed things up a bit. I will cover this in 3 major areas in the following, the first two you may be able to do without a tech person.

• Uninstall Programs

The first order of business is to uninstall programs you know you don´t need. But you want to make absolutely sure you aren´t uninstalling critical applications, programs, etc. Always go with the obvious choices, those that you are sure of, or have a Tech person help you decide if you are not sure. To uninstall a program, go to Start, Control Panel, Programs and Features, and you will see a screen similar to the one below but with more programs. From here you can uninstall the ones you no longer need. Remember to ask for help from a Tech person if items in the list seem ambiguous to you.

• Defragment your hard drive

As mentioned in article #1 of this series, Windows 7 defragmenter uses less resource than its predecessor and allows you to continue working with less impact on performance while the defragmenter is running. To put it in simple terms, defragmenting simply organizes your files better on your hard drive by placing related files closer together so that the needle that reads the hard disc doesn´t have to run all over the disc(s) looking for files.
To defragment, go to Start, Control Panel, System and Security. Under the Administrative Tools Section, Click on Defragment your hard drive. You will see the screen below. You can continue working while your hard disc is defragmented.

• Msconfig

Okay, now for the final piece to all of this. The following process should only be followed by a Tech person; otherwise the outcome may lead to undesirable results. However, if you have completed the first two items above uninstalling programs and defragmenting your hard drive, having done so will save time, especially if you are paying a Tech by the hour for this next process. Your Tech will typically know how to perform the following using msconfig so I´ll say no more except to indicate that there are programs running in the background which can slow things down and these programs, rarely used, can be de-selected from starting up and that can make your system run faster. The screenshot below is an example of the type of programs that may be running in the background. If you are still having issues, you may be able to take two aspirin and call us in the morning.

Note: slowness can also be the result of Malware which we will cover in a separate article.

In the next article you will learn how to check your firewall settings to make sure they are properly set.

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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Should You Migrate to Windows 7?

Jared White — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:48:41 +0000

While Microsoft’s new operating system triumphs over Vista, there hasn’t been a great rush to make the switch. Are real estate professionals missing out?

By Michael Antoniak | May 2010

When Windows 7, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system for PCs, launched last year, it was welcomed as a much-needed replacement for Vista. Reviews and word-of-mouth have been generally favorable, giving PC users ample reason to pause and consider the merits of migrating to the new operating system. But the improvements and positive buzz hasn’t necessarily translated into a great rush by real estate professionals to embrace the latest greatest version of Windows.

Windows 7 for Real Estate Agents Edition 10

Jared White — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:51:25 +0000

• I’ve got the power by Richard Tausch

o Power Options

It is always good to adjust your power settings, especially if you have a laptop and travel a lot, but also if you want to make desktop monitor last longer. First off, let’s go to Start, Control Panel, Power Options and you will see a screen similar to the one below. If you have a laptop, there are some things to be aware of. For instance, if you plug an external monitor into a laptop, you will want to make sure the selection “When I close my lid” says “Do nothing”, that way when you close the lid, the computer won’t go into sleep mode and the display will show up on your external monitor.

If you travel a lot and spend time in a car or on a plane, or any area where there is no power outlet, you may want to choose the “Power saver” mode so that your laptop will use less power for the laptop display, etc. If you rarely travel, the best choice is “High performance”. You can create a custom power plan but the 3 options as seen in the screenshot below should suffice for most of your needs. In the next article you will learn how to tune up your own computer and save money!

Here´s to happy computing!

Richard Tausch, MCSE, CCNA, CompTia Security +

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