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Archive for July, 2010

People no longer wait for the good old postman to get letters, and many have even jettisoned the idea of visiting the local grocer and prefer to have their supplies ordered online. With offices also hung on internet for every job, broadband has become people’s lifeline for survival. And it is not just any broadband that they need, they need cheap unlimited broadband. There are several companies offering unlimited broadband at competitive rates and this makes the selection of the right broadband connection itself a job for consumers.

What exactly is cheap unlimited broadband for a person would depend mainly on his requirements. The internet connection speed, based on the upload and download rate it allows, is an important factor in deciding the cost effectiveness of the deal. For those, who use the internet only for routine mail checking and reading of news stories, speed is not very important and a 10Mbit connection would more than suffice for them. They can decide the cost effectiveness of a deal without making speed a priority.

For those who need internet for heavy downloads and uploads, speed of the broadband has to be a high priority. They should also read in detail some of the usage policies that the internet services providers prefer to put in small print. There are times of the day during which internet usage and heavy downloads will work out cheaper and there are also certain limitations to download, crossing of which will make downloads expensive. Proper synchronization of timings and download limits, with his personal requirements, would let a person decide the utility of the type of cheap unlimited broadband that he is opting for.

Broadband magazine does yeoman service in creating awareness among the broadband consumer of the UK. The magazine analyzes, explains, and compares the myriad broadband options that are available, as well as the latest trends in internet usage and the changing technologies in the world of broadband. While keeping customers updated on broadband news, and cheap unlimited broadband deals, the broadband magazine also functions as a receptive and interactive forum for broadband consumers, as it is consistently asking consumers’ opinion and their experiences on broadband usage. They have a committed team of writers who provide broadband guidelines to consumers, collect broadband news, and do research and analyses on the emerging trends of broadband.

Broadband magazine gives a lot of importance to internet security and publishes articles on the need for companies to increase network security and educate employees on the dangers of sending data without sufficient security measures. They have a broadband guide section, which provides exhaustive guidelines on internet usage, and a comparison site where the different deals are compared based on users input. An important section of the broadband magazine from a consumer’s point of view is the broadband deals section which has a blog with reviews on different deals. It also informs consumers on what the new deals in the pipeline are. And finally its news section covers all these aspects along with reporting on the governmental rules and regulations on internet usage.

Viruses:

Viruses – A virus is a small piece of software that replicates itself. A virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc. E-mail viruses – An e-mail virus moves around in e-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim’s e-mail address book. Worms – A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well. Trojan horses – A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game, or a “free” piece of software) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically. They are called Trojan horses because they are sometimes disguised as normal computer programs.

Spyware:

Spyware is defined as any software that covertly gathers user information through the user’s Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.

Spyware often causes “pop-up” advertisements to appear on the user’s screen, without the user’s knowledge or consent. These pop-ups can be quite a headache, and spyware itself often slows down computers to a slow crawl.

Because spyware exists as independent executable programs, they have the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan files on the hard drive, snoop other applications, such as chat programs or word processors, install other spyware programs, read cookies, change the default home page on the Web browser, consistently relaying this information back to the spyware author who will either use it for advertising/marketing purposes or sell the information to another party. When the home page of your web browser changes without your knowledge or consent, this is referred to a home-page hijacking.

Sometimes, a computer is so badly infected with viruses and spyware that the harmful software cannot be removed without completely formatting the hard drive (deleting all files) and reinstalling the operating system. Now is when you contact your computer repair store.  Ask for the computer virus repair technician.  The tech will offer a data backup solution and note which programs you had installed, and then perform a BFR (Backup, Format, Reinstall, Restore) on your system. When the virus and spyware removal is completed, ask for instructions on how to run the programs that were installed to prevent viruses and spyware from compromising your system in the future.

This article was prepared and written by Jeff Atto of Concise Computer Consulting, LLC, located at 2150 Franklin Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI. Please contact us for any question about your home computer or laptop. 248-745-8255 My email address is info@concisePC.com and our website is http://www.concisePC.com

This article was submitted by Right Now Marketing Group, LLC