9 Warning Signs Your Computer Is Infected With Spyware
Spyware is Internet jargon for hidden programs that advertisers install on your PC without your permission to spy on you, gather information, and report this information about you and your online activities to a third party.
Spyware is NOT harmless; it can be responsible for delivering a boatload of spam, altering your web browser, slowing down your PC, and serving up a bounty of pop-up ads. In some of the more extreme cases, spyware can also steal your identity, passwords, e-mail address book, and even use your PC for illegal activities.
Most spyware finds its way onto your computer via file downloads including free programs, music files, and screen savers found everywhere on the Internet. These nasty programs piggyback the download and run undetected on your computer collecting information about you and sending it out to a third party until they are removed. Although spyware has malicious components, it is not illegal, and it is not considered a virus because it doesn’t replicate itself or destroy data.
If you are experiencing one or more of these warning signs, chances are your computer is infected and you will need to seek professional help in getting the spyware removed.
#1. Your browser has been hijacked. If you open your Internet browser and a strange-looking homepage pops up and won’t go away, chances are you have a spyware program installed on your computer. You may also discover that you cannot modify your browser settings and that your favorites folder has been modified.
#2. You conduct a search but another (unauthorized) browser completes it for you. For example, you type a search term into Microsoft IE but another browser pops up and lists various websites tied to your search term. This is a surefire sign of a spyware infection. You’ll also notice that if you try and remove this program, it comes right back.
#3. Your computer is unstable, sluggish, locks up, or crashes frequently. Spyware programs run in the background taking up disk space and processor speed which will cause serious performance problems.
#4. You constantly get pop-up ads displayed on your screen, even if you aren’t browsing the Internet. Some of the ads may even be personalized with your name.
#5. You receive expensive phone bills for calls to 900 numbers that you didn’t make. Some spyware programs can use your computer to make calls on both a broadband and dial-up line.
#6. The send and receive lights on your modem blink actively as though you are surfing the Internet or downloading files online, even though you aren’t. More than likely this is due to spyware programs sending and receiving information via your computer without your permission or acknowledgement.
#7. Mysterious files suddenly start appearing on your computer, your files are moved or deleted, or the icons on your desktop and toolbars are blank or missing.
#8. Your CD drawer starts opening and closing by itself.
#9. You find e-mails in your “Sent Items” folder that you didn’t send.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
Benjamin Zander has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since 1979. His insights for classical music and leadership can be applied in any leadership role.
As conductor, Zander’s job is to awaken the possibilities in others. As he says in the TED video, “ the conductor does not make any sounds.” It is up to him to make sure the musicians have the information they need do their best.
The same is true for any leader. Are you making sure your team members have what they need to succeed. When your team succeeds, so do you!
Zander mentions that he can tell when he has awaken the possibilities in another person by how brightly their eyes are shining. Zander judges his wealth and success on the number of shining eyes he sees. How many shining eyes do you see each day?
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
Learning from your peers is better than learning from your own mistakes.
I am a firm believer in peer groups. I always suggest that business owners look for peer groups in their industries. These groups can be invaluable. They can push you to get the impossible done. Your peers can also help you when you need it, because they have been there too.
Peer groups can allow you and your business to build a nationwide network.
I have found that is it much cheaper and easier to learn from your peers than to learn from your own mistakes.
For me and my business, peer groups have been invaluable.
So get out there and start looking for a group in your industry. You will be surprised at what you will find.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
Making Progress, Getting More Done And Staying Consistent
What are your daily habits?
• Do you start each day knowing exactly what you need to accomplish and do you start working on “A-‐1” the minute you hit your desk?
• Do you time block (schedule) your day? How about you’re week?
• Can you stay focused on a particular project or activity for 90 minutes without interruption and without a break? 60 minutes? 30? 20? 10?
• When you’re sitting with a group of people, where is your cell phone? Do you constantly check e-‐mail throughout the day?
Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Some key points I want to make:
• If you’re not successful in a certain area, ask yourself
a) How committed are you to changing it? and
b) Have you REALLY put a focused effort to it long enough?
• You don’t manage time. You can only manage what you choose to focus on and what to do.
• To change anything, focus on your HABITS.
My Top 3 Productivity Tips:
1. Know what you are supposed to be doing and move QUICKLY between tasks
2. Have a STOP doing list
3. Work on “Focus” as a skill
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
5 Ways To Keep Your Laptop Running – Without Plugging It In
On the road, in the airport, at a client’s site, or simply at home on the couch … these are places you can’t or don’t want to – plug in your laptop. Want to keep your laptop running as long as possible without searching for an outlet? Here are five tips to help:
1) Keep your screen dim. A laptop’s backlight requires a lot of power. Reducing the brightness conserves battery life.
2) Turn off unused hardware. Your Bluetooth and your Wi-Fi receiver can both be turned off if not in use. Unplug your external mouse or other device. Mute the PC’s sound system. Not only will these steps save power, they will avoid annoying everyone else around you.
3) Don’t multitask. Run as few programs as you can get away with. Stick to one application (word processor, browser, or whatever) if possible. (If online keep your antivirus and firewall on in the background.)
4) Avoid multimedia. Save your photo editing and video watching for when you have AC power. These tasks use immense battery life. To listen to music, use your iPod (or similar device).
5) Sleep, standby or hibernate. Sleep mode (a/k/a “standby” in XP) keeps your PC on. It still uses power, just less than normal. Hibernate uses no power initially, but a lot of battery life to start back up.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
What is your Centerpoint? Meet Blue Angels Pilot, John Foley
Recently while in Dallas at an industry conference for Tigerpaw Software, I had the great pleasure of hearing John Foley speak in person. He is Amazing and the focus that the Blue Angels have is Amazing. When the Blue Angels fly in formation, they start with the planes at 36 inches apart and get the planes as close as 18 inches apart. It must take incredible focus to achieve such precision. John explains that for every show, the Blue Angels have a centerpoint that everyone remains focused on. This centerpoint allows all of the pilots to focus on one thing and achieve unbelievable accuracy. Just imagine what you could do with that kind of focus. What is your centerpoint? What are you going to focus on that will make you achieve unbelievable goals?
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
According to a University of Utah study, you can increase your efficiency (or your employees’ efficiency) by 25% just by adding a second monitor. With multiple monitors, you can get more done since you aren’t minimizing and maximizing all day long. Therefore, adding monitors can be a money maker for your company.
The study documentation states that 108 university and non-university personnel participated in a comparison of single monitor, multi-monitor and multi-monitor with Hydravision display configurations. Respondents edited slide shows, spreadsheets and text documents in a simulation of office work using each of the display arrays. Performance measures—including task time, editing time, number of edits completed and number of errors made, as well as usability measures evaluating effectiveness, comfort, learning ease, time to productivity, quickness of recovery from mistakes, ease of task tracking, ability to maintain task focus and ease of movement among sources—were combined into an overall evaluation of productivity. Multi-screens scored significantly higher on every measure. Respondents got on task quicker, did the work faster and got more of the work done with fewer errors in multi-screen configurations than with a single screen.
Consider trying this in your office. Add a monitor or two to your desk and to those of your employees. See what kind of feedback you get and how much more efficient and productive you become when you have the ability to move quicker, use multiple applications at once and no longer have to constantly minimize windows
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
E-mail driving you crazy? Every time you delete one, do five more show up? Are you finding it impossible to answer every e-mail you receive? If this is you, then here are 10 tips to reduce e-mail overload.
1- Get a good spam filter. Even if it saves you just 10 minutes a day, that adds up to over 59 hours a year.
2- Cancel subscriptions to unwanted mailing lists. Also, make sure you are careful to check the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” box when purchasing items online.
3- Ask your friends to remove you from joke groups or chain messages.
4- Don’t post or publish your e-mail on websites.
5- Don’t respond to every e-mail you receive. Yes, it’s okay NOT to respond to some e-mails.
6- Be succinct. Restrict your messages to a few sentences. If you can’t, pick up the phone or talk in person.
7- Take advantage of subject lines. If possible, put your question in the subject line of your message. Here’s another tip: create a set of codes with your co-workers and place them in the subject line to help them process and prioritize messages. For example, use “FYI” for informational messages. Use “AR” for action required and “URG” for urgent messages.
8- Block time to answer your e-mail and fight the temptation to check your e-mail every few minutes.
9- Respond to messages when you open them so you only read them once.
10- Set time aside in the morning and the evening to process your inbox. Shoot for a completely empty inbox. File messages you need to keep and set reminders for messages that require you to follow up.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
What every business owner needs to know about tying shoes
I thought I would try something a little different for this post. Please watch the video to get the most out of your day. Steve Miller from The Adventure introduced me to TED a couple of weeks ago. Steve is a great guy with a huge sense of humor. I thought I would share some of the humor with you.
So now that you have watched the video…..Which way do you tie your shoes?
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
4 Questions About Backups That You Should Know The Answers To
The old saying, “Pack your own parachute,” comes to mind when I think of data backups or, more specifically, data RECOVERY. However, how many people actually know how to pack their data backup “parachute.
Since the absolute WORST time to check your backups is AFTER a data disaster, all business owners ought to know the answers to the following questions NOW so they aren’t unpleasantly surprised later when data gets erased and they’re scrambling to get back up and running:
1. Where EXACTLY is your data being backed up, and how do you get access to it?
Ideally, it should be in your network documentation that is kept in your operations manual or somewhere you can easily access it if necessary.
2. Who’s responsible for monitoring the backups to make sure they are working?
When data is lost, the finger pointing starts
3. How often do you run a test restore?
The only way to know if your backups are working properly is to conduct a test restore or “fire drill” of your data. We recommend running this once a month at a minimum to verify that you can actually restore from your backups in an emergency.
4. If your data is lost, what’s the process required to restore it?
Business owners should know what is required and how long it will take to recover data before an emergency strikes. Not all backup and recovery options are created equal. Setting up the proper process before you need it, will make your life a lot easier after an emergency.
Ener Systems is very sensitive to the fact that we don't have the big bucks to spend on IT; They bend over backwards to make something work without a huge outlay of cash. I certainly have no qualms about recommending them.
