A special message will be displayed at the top of the Google search results page to users of Windows and Mac systems that have been infected with the malware.

Google used a similar technique last year to successfully alert a million users infected with a different kind of malware. This time around, the search giant believes that some half a million systems are still affected.

Linux users are safe, as are those using iPhones, iPads, Android devices and other systems. However, It is possible that the malware has managed to modify the settings on some home routers. This means that uninfected computers and mobile devices might still be affected.

DNSChanger is a piece of malware that was discovered back in 2007 and is estimated to have infected millions of computer worldwide.

The malware intercepts websites visited by the web browser, redirecting the users from the site they had chosen to visit to servers under the control of the cybercriminals. These servers were then used to pushed web ads to the user, earning the criminals millions of dollars in the process.

However, last year the FBI, working in conjunction with the Estonian police, seized the servers used by the cybercriminals and broke up the crime ring behind the operations.

However, the servers used by the criminals were kept online so as to not disrupt the web activities of those infected (although they no longer served up ads).

But running these web servers isn’t cheap, and so the plug is being pulled on them come July 8. Because systems infected with DNSChanger have had key settings changed that redirects all their web browsing through these servers, once they are pulled offline, the internet will disappear for anyone using an infected system.

The DNSChanger Working Group (DCWG), the that’s been maintaining care of the servers since their seizure, has created a website that allows you check if your computer is infected and, if it is, remove the DNSChanger malware.

Back in January of this year the DCWG estimated that some 450,000 systems were still infected with DNSChanger. If Google’s estimate that half a million systems are still infected is correct, it seems that the initial estimates by the DCWG was too low.

If you are infected there are a whole host of removal tools available. Here is a listing:

• Hitman Pro (32bit and 64bit versions)
• Kaspersky Labs TDSSKiller
• McAfee Stinger
• Microsoft Windows Defender Offline
• Microsoft Safety Scanner
• Norton Power Eraser
• Trend Micro Housecall
• MacScan
• Avira

Given that after July 8 you might not get the chance to do this, you might want to check your system for DNS Changer sooner rather than later.

Source: Forbes

Microsoft has been banging the Windows XP upgrade drum for years, but stepped up the campaign in 2012, including starting a “two-year countdown” to the demise of security support. Last month, Microsoft was blunt, saying “If your organization has not started the migration to a modern PC, you are late.”

Windows XP exits all support, including monthly security patches, in April 2014.

In a blog post Thursday, Erwin Visser, a senior director for Windows, used data collected by IDC to make Microsoft’s upgrade case.

“The bottom line…[is that] businesses that migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7 will see significant return on investment,” said Visser.

Microsoft sponsored the survey (download PDF) conducted by IDC, which in turn interviewed nine enterprises or large organizations to drill into the support costs of XP and Windows 7.

According to IDC, an amazing 42% of the Windows “commercial” installed base, or anything other than consumers’ home machines, was Window XP, making Microsoft’s job of moving everyone off the old OS by its April 2014 retirement nearly impossible.

In fact, IDC projected that if current trends continue, 11% of the enterprise and educational Windows installed base will still be running XP when Microsoft stops patch delivery in 23 months.

And those XP machines costs organizations considerably more to support than comparable PCs running Windows 7.

One reason for the increased costs for supporting Windows XP is that it’s typically running on older hardware that, independent of the OS, is more expensive to simply keep running.

The magic milestone is after the three-year mark, when “costs begin to accelerate” because of additional IT and help desk time, and increased user downtime due to more security woes and time spent rebooting, said IDC.

IT labor costs jump 25% during year four of a PC’s lifespan, and another 29% in year five, IDC noted, while user productivity costs climb 23% in year four and jump 40% during year five. Total year five costs are a whopping 73% higher than support costs of a two-year-old client.

However, the operating system also plays a major role in the cost differences, said IDC, with XP more expensive to support in every category the research company surveyed.

Organizations reported that they spent 82% less time managing patches on Windows 7 systems than they did on Windows XP, 90% less time mitigating malware, and 84% less help desk time.

Benefits were also striking for Windows 7 users’ productivity compared to XP. Windows 7 users wasted 94% less time rebooting their computers and lost 90% less time due to malware attacks.

On the IT side, the savings of Windows 7 mount dramatically, IDC said.

“IT activities account for 11.3 hours of time spent per PC per year when using Windows XP,” the research group said. “Shops that have moved to Windows 7…spend 2.3 hours per PC per year on maintaining those systems.”

IDC did the math, and concluded that for every 230 PCs running Windows 7 rather than XP, an organization could shift one full-time IT person to other work. Or conceivably do without him or her entirely.

The Microsoft-commissioned report also painted a rosy return-on-investment (ROI) picture for companies who do ditch XP for Windows 7. By IDC’s calculations, the acquisition of a new PC — one where Windows 7 is retained as the OS rather than being downgraded to XP — pays for itself in one year and generates almost $1,000 more in savings from reduced IT costs and worker downtime over a three-year span.

“The migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 yields a 137% return on investment over a three-year period,” claimed IDC.

Windows XP have a shortening upgrade window — no pun intended — and not only because of the April 2014 end to all support. Microsoft is expected to launch Windows 8 this fall, a time when most new PCs will then also be pre-loaded with the OS by computer makers, or OEMs.

That will not immediately strike Windows 7 from the rolls, but it does start a couple of clocks ticking: OEMs can continue to sell Windows 7-powered PCs as long as two years after Windows 8′s launch, but the older operating system will disappear from most retail outlets one year earlier, or in the fall of 2013.

Organizations that have Software Assurance (SA) agreements — the Microsoft-sold software insurance policy that lets firms upgrade to every new version of a specific product released during the life of the deal — can downgrade any Windows 8 PC to Windows 7. But SA is almost exclusively an enterprise program.

Smaller firms that buy Windows licenses at retail, likely in the form of a new PC, can also downgrade from Windows 8 to 7, but only if the new system is pre-installed with Windows 8 Pro, the higher-end edition. They will also need media — a DVD or flash drive — containing Windows 7 Professional to complete the downgrade. If smaller shops wait too long, they may find it difficult to locate a seller for the latter after late 2013.

Likewise, while Windows XP Professional can be upgraded to Windows 7 Professional, companies sans SA also require a copy of the newer OS. The same end-of-retail caveat for Windows 7 applies to them as well.

Microsoft has been dissing Windows XP for some time, but the ROI report was its first argument that stressed dollars and cents.

In June 2011, a Microsoft manager said it was “time to move on” from Windows XP; earlier that year an executive on the Internet Explorer team belittled XP as “lowest common denominator” when he explained why the OS wouldn’t run the then-new IE9.

The company has not yet turned on Windows XP like it has on the 11-year-old Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). For more than two and a half years, Microsoft has urged users to give up IE6, going so far in March 2011 to launch a deathwatch website that tracks IE6′s shrinking share.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Microsoft followed suit with Windows XP once the OS drops to a more manageable share mark: According to Web metrics company Net Applications, XP accounted for 46.1% of all operating systems used to go online in April.

If XP continues to shed share at its last-12-months’ pace, it will still own a 17.6% share in April 2014, when it drops off support.

Source: ComputerWorld

Make no mistake about it, too: Apple and Mac owners are victims of organized crime in all malware attacks. Individual computers are infected with malware for the purpose of taking control over it, unbeknownst to the computer owner. Once so infected, the computer joins the ranks of the hundreds of thousands who have also been infected, and that large army of computers form what is called a ‘botnet. Large ‘botnets then use the combined computing power of their ranks to attack websites and servers all over the world.

Apple has stepped up and is taking steps to respond and defend against these kinds of attacks. If you believe your Mac is one of the victims, or if you want to ascertain whether it is, Cape Specialists can help. Call us and we’ll make arrangements to inspect and determine what, if anything, you need to do.

The Internet is a dangerous place for those who are intent on mischief. Don’t let yourself become one of their victims. We can help.

Tools Needed:

• UltraISO
• 7-Zip
• Mac OSX Lion

Instructions:

1. Copy “InstallESD.dmg” from the “Install Mac OS X Lion.app\Contents\SharedSupport\” folder to your desktop.
2. Create a new folder on your desktop named “Lion”.
3. Open “InstallESD.dmg” on your desktop with 7-Zip.
4. In 7-Zip navigate to the “\InstallMacOSX.pkg\” folder and copy “InstallESD.dmg” to the Lion folder you created on your desktop.
5. Run PowerISO.
6. Click “Burn” button on toolbar or choose “Tools > Burn” Menu.
7. PowerISO shows “DMG Burner” dialog.
8. Choose InstallESD.dmg located in the Lion folder (You can alternatively use UltraISO to convert InstallESD.dmg to an ISO.)
9. Select the burning drive and burning speed.
10. Click “Burn” button to start burning.

If you get an UltraISO ‘not a valid image format’ error, you’re trying to burn the wrong InstallESD.

K. writes:
1. A high percentage of Geek Squad employees lack basic troubleshooting skills such as correctly identifying malfunctioning components. This stems from inadequate and outdated training materials, such as the Best Buy Learning Lounge.

2. People are hired or promoted from other departments to Geek Squad simply to sell services. Specifically, individuals who have no experience working on computers are given the appearance of being a technician.

3. Selling services and warranties are pushed more than actually completing repairs. I remember one instance where my GM said that selling a new computer with services was more important than completing a customer’s unit that they had already paid for.

4. Employees are taught situational tactics to extract as much money as possible from a potential customer. If an individual had a small software issue that could simply be resolved, then we were taught to charge $200.

5. Although this changed shortly before I left, Geek Squad employees at the store I worked at were required to track each individual sale. Before the end of your shift, you were required to get a manager to look at your sales sheet and sign it. If you weren’t doing so well, then the manager “coached” you on how to sell more services.

6. Best Buy Credit Cards were pushed to customers at every available opportunity. More than once, I witnessed Best Buy employees talking to people about signing up for a credit card, only to find out they were not old enough. Also, we were taught in Geek Squad to push the credit card even if the customer was already paying with another form of tender.

7. There is no chance for advancement within the Geek Squad department. The only position an employee could move up to is the Manager.

8. Best Buy does not encourage Geek Squad employees to get certifications or reimburse or pay for part of taking a certification. I specifically remember inquiring about this, and apparently there exists such a program for the GS Auto Techs in which they also get paid more for each certification passed, but not for GS Computer Techs.

9. Geek Squad City, the repair center for repairs we could not do in-store (any repair that was not a hard drive, memory, or power supply replacement), routinely completed unsatisfactory repair work. There were times I would send off a computer 3 times for a verified issue and the unit would come back with the same issue un-repaired. The worst example I can remember was a laptop that had its screen replaced and where the webcam was supposed to be on the screen bezel was instead a screw that held the LCD together.

Source: http://consumerist.com/2011/06/9-confessions-of-a-former-geek-squad-geek.html

All of our technicians are A+ Certified, a professional designation that does not come easy. Its designation is awarded by an organization called CompTIA, a provider of professional certifications for the information technology industry. A test is administered to measure one’s technical abilities and knowledge, and the A+ certification demonstrates competency as a computer technician.

Address:
Cape Cod Computer Specialists
376 Route 130, Unit B
Sandwich, MA 02563

Call Today – 508.258.9864

If you’re concerned about your Facebook security switch on HTTPS instead of regular HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) for maximum protection.

Account->Account Settings->Account Security->Change->Secure Browsing (HTTPS)->Tick the Check box->Save

When browsing Facebook at public places such as an Internet Cafe, or on an open wireless network, this setting is a must. With recent media coverage on Facebook’s insecurities, this single setting change can be the deciding factor on whether your Facebook account is hijacked or not.

http://codebutler.com/firesheep
(read more about the insecurities here)