Hotmail is definitely burning out of control!

I decided to blog about this after receiving our tenth call within the past week about our M.S.P. contract customers and Facebook followers asking about their Hotmail accounts spamming their contacts, phishing, locking them out or mail folders disappearing.

A new Hotmail Virus affecting emails sent daily to millions of Internet users continues to cause many unwanted problems for millions of people worldwide.

But what is the quickest and easiest solution? And what is it anyway?

Let's answer some questions here and hopefully, if you are already a victim of the error, your headaches will subside.

What is the Hotmail Virus?

This is a computer virus that has been created by a hacker known as "master of life." The error appears in the inbox or junk mail from your account and is often called by the name of "Here you have it." This email comes with an attachment and can be sent through false identity of anyone on your contact list. This is exactly why it has become a big problem.

Note: Sources say that once the attachment is opened the computer screen appears with the following personal message:

"It's too late now. Your life is no longer beautiful ..."

What damages are caused by the Hotmail Virus?

Well, unfortunately, the Hotmail Virus sending email disguised as ordinary messages can do great damage to your system. Your computer is now "infected" and immediately begins to experience some major unwanted problems. The error can result in the following and more:

• trash files that are personal and important deleting them forever
• change data and completely corrupt it
• allow for hackers to enter and steal personal information and files
• not allow you to log-in or gain access to real emails

How do you get rid of it?

With the virus sending corrupted Hotmail emails, you need to access spyware or anti-virus products to scan and clean the bugs quickly and efficiently. Be careful of 'remedies' published online; these are usually posted by the virus writers themselves to trick you further. Chances are if you are using that security program that your Internet Service Provider gives you for free, then you are already infected.

We can remotely and securely login to any computer - anywhere - that can access the computer and scrub the infections out for you. For more information, please follow this link: http://www.ageektogo.net/service.html

Identity theft, phishing and Scareware

Phishing scams and attacks have been the preferred medium for thieves and hackers to steal your personal information, then your cash. Any request for data, whether online or offline, should sound the alarm in your head: Identity theft alert!

Most people have heard about phishing scams, and are reasonably guarded against them. But criminals are very inventive and imaginative, and are constantly dreaming up new ways to deceive us and bilk us out of our hard earned money.

One method that has been around for a while called "scareware." It works well. Suddenly you get a pop-up on the screen, a warning that your PC has been suspected of being infected with a virus. The picture looks like the common dialog box we are used to seeing from Windows, so they are not very suspicious.

You see a link to a website where you can buy a program to remove the malware. However, if you buy and run the software, that will do the opposite. Now - the real virus and spyware are installed on your computer. This malware will scan your computer for credit card numbers, passwords and bank details. Worse, the hacker is in fact charging the credit card you used for the purchase. Trust us, we have seen this four times in the last week!

How did pop onto your computer first? You may have inadvertently dropped a phishing scam. Or, you may have been the victim of a drive-by download. You visit a site well-known and respected site that had been already attacked and compromised. Simply visiting caused a malicious program that downloads and installs on your computer, without any further action on your part.

Here are two other common avenues of attack: you click on an advertisement on Google or news site. The announcement had been placed by a hacker. This takes you to a malicious website that infects the PC. Or thieves determine what is popular and in the news these days. Then, create web sites that deal with these issues.

They are also distributed through optimization techniques, which receive their pages appear in the top 10 Google search results. This is called poisoning the results. Clicking one of these "false" results, you get a pop-up scareware malware or otherwise.

Twitter and other social networking sites have been attacked several times, using different combinations and variations of the above methods. A recent survey revealed that nearly half of Internet users who rely on their safety programs were being protected. But in fact, programs were not updated, so it hardly provides any protection at all. Identity theft alert!

Your antivirus software must be updated every day. Anti-spyware programs are updated once a week. A couple times a month, check Windows updates for your computer.

Before usingweb-searched useful tips, you must be careful how close that pop-up on the screen. If you click the pop-up menu itself or the small red X in the upper right, rather than close the dialog box, you can actually start downloading malicious software! So do the following:

Click the tab pop-up in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, and click Close. If this fails, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete. Find your browser in the list of running programs, and click End Task. Then turn off pop-up windows together on your browser.

So what should you do if, unfortunately, you fell into the trap and buy the software? Disconnect from the Internet. call your financial accounts and tell them your computer has been compromised, IMMEDIATELY! View your statements of credit cards closely over the coming months. Report any unauthorized charges at once. MOST importantly, get professional help. That FREE security software your provider gave you or that came with your computer can't be trusted. After all, where was it when you got the infection?

Get all software from trusted sources only. Never buy anything in response to a pop-up or spam. Keep all your programs and applications updated often, not just security software. Hackers love to use Adobe Reader or Flash, or media players to attack. I know that malware removal all day can be a long and tedious dillema.

But a relatively painless way to do this is to use the Managed Services Program to repel infections and the unlimited U.S.-based Phone and Remote Support is always available when a new infection is released into the wild and access your computer before anti-infection definitions are created. Remember, nothing is 100% effective, as 12 new infections are released every day..

Identity theft is a complicated and expensive. It may take a year of frustration and gnashing of teeth to get your life back on track. The good news is that the application of these guidelines, plus a little common sense should keep you secure. Happy (and safe!) Surfing.

Managed Services Program (M.S.P.) Hits Milestone

Thanks to the recent addition of the commercial M.S.P. contracts for Gold's Gym-James Island, SC, Harborside Remodeling, providing the majority of remodeling services for Kiawah and Seabrook Islands and Jimmy Johns - Downtown Charleston, SC - a popular national gourmet sandwich franchise... A Geek To Go! L.L.C. has reached its 225th Managed Services contract! Not to mention the 9 new residential M.S.P.'s created in the past two weeks. We're not sure what economic indicator this may represent, but obviously more users are realizing that internet security (and the maintenance of those programs) are better left in the hands of those experienced with these. A Geek To Go! has now customized the program to accommodate any user, either inside the Charleston, SC area where they are based, or for any user in the world at a reduced rate. We offer UNLIMITED U.S.-based phone and remote support to any computer anywhere in the world, as long as the computer has an active internet access. Please check out the details of the plan at http://www.ageektogo.net/msp.html and if you are interested, email or call us at 843.557.9378 and we'll provide the credentials to sign onto our CONTRACTS page where you may view and complete a contract and begin the remote setup and support of your M.S.P. from the leader, A Geek To Go!

Mini-Post About Apple's Boast:

Steve Jobs from Apple on the rise of the iPad and the fall of the PC

FYI... while the iPad creates a frenzy; like the iPhone - there are copycats. Asus and HP have their own versions, and unlike Apple, you don't have to go to the store to get apps to run on these platforms. You see, the iPad requires the user to download everything from Apple's iTunes Store, while the PC-platform versions allow apps to come from multiple sources. Most of the good ones won't come without a price tag, although once the open-source community grabs a hold of it, then lots of free apps will trickle on down the line. Also, a word of advice; just like when a new restaurant opens, you usually wait a while for everything to fall into place before trying it out. There will be updates, service packs and continuous new versions morphing out of every nook and cranny. remember the first touchscreen on a phone? The first eReader? No matter who you choose to go with, let the 1st-Gen work out the kinks before you plunk down all your bets on the first horse out of the gate! ~ Miles West, President, A Geek To Go!

A Geek To Go! Bio Published by the Charleston, SC Post & Courier

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/07/computer-business-inspired-geeks-calif-workplace/

Computer business inspired by 'geeks' in Calif. workplace

By Edward Fennell

The Post and Courier

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Miles West says he can get the bugs out of your computer and keep them away, but does that make him a geek?

West, 41, owns AGeekToGo Internet-security and data-recovery service, which he founded five years ago and operates out of his James Island home.

His Weimaraner, Blue, is always by his side in his home office and sometimes accompanies the business owner on house calls.

Photo by Edward Fennell

The Post and Courier

Miles West created AGeekToGo! computer Internet-security and data-recovery service and safeguards about 50 clients' home computers from Internet worms, viruses and malware.

But before launching a career in the subject dearest to him — computers — West held jobs in the film industry in Los Angeles, at an Internet startup service in Santa Barbara and even a Charleston-area coffee shop.

"After 11 years out in crazy L.A., I got burned out," said West, adding that he missed Southern living, so he returned to the Lowcountry. After a succession of odd jobs, he knew what he wanted to do.

"I always liked anything to do with the computer," he said.

Hailing from Murrells Inlet, West graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach and earned a media arts degree in 1992 at the University of South Carolina. He headed to California for work when the Internet field was a fledgling enterprise.

While with a firm helping customers to get online, West "hung out with the real geeks — the guys that looked like they were from 'Revenge of the Nerds' with the pocket protectors and the tape on their glasses," he said.

"These guys could not get a date, and I did OK with the dating scene. I told them, 'If you'll teach me your computer skills, I'll tell you what girls like to hear,' " he said.

West said his computer knowledge grew by gigabytes, but he's not sure if the information exchange benefited the computer guys.

"I don't know how much they learned, but they haven't called back," he added.

West put out some fliers advertising tech support for computer owners, and while he was well-versed in PCs (personal computers), the first call he got was from the owner of the rival home computer, the Mac.

He said he told the caller "sure" he could help, though he knew nothing about the Mac, and then rushed out and bought "Mac for Dummies."

He said he made good money with computer services but decided to head back to South Carolina. In between some odd jobs, he was hired to shoot video at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

West said the knowledge and dedication to their tasks that he saw in the guys he once worked with inspired the AGeekToGo name he chose for his new firm. But West is confident he's not really a geek himself.

From the beginning, West's computer business faced considerable competition. Local electronics stores field their own teams of experts that help residential and business customers set up and maintain their computers. West said he decided to carve out a niche for himself by focusing on Internet security.

"I knew I had to diversify. My motto is: If you keep on doing the same thing, you're going to get the same results," he said.

West said many computer users are finding that viruses and trojan malware are getting tougher to block and remove. Youths who do a lot of downloading inadvertently let in these computer infections, which, he said, are persistent at finding ways around or through the common household computer protection programs.

West said he developed plans for keeping his customers' PCs free of data destroying and operating-system-crippling infections. "I've worked with a lot of good security programs and bundled them together," he said.

West said the protection program he devised "runs automatically and independently," but should a bug slip by, he makes house calls.

West said he has about 50 clients now, about 90 percent of them residential.

"I do work with some businesses, but my niche is the residential market," he said.

For information, see ageektogo.net.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 937-5560.

A Geek To Go Managed Services Program sets milestone in the Recession Years

People are finally waking up and realizing that Managed Services are truly the way to go! No longer having to worry about updating your security, running scans and horrible support, referrals are driving mad interest to our M.S.P. program. While built primarily on a business-based model, we have tweaked it to support residential users as well, coupled with Mozy, the leader for online remote backups. Since most customers wince when their drives fail, because they have never backed up their data, they choose the Mozy way which offers unlimited automated remote storage to their servers in Utah. We can recover just about anything, but a managed computer with remote backup is the way to go!

Thanks to T. West of Georgetown for becoming our 50th MSP customer since we started last spring!