Greetings

Another beautiful summer has come to the mountains, teeming with foliage and outdoor fun!  Its the perfect time to take in a deep breath of fresh air and relax, letting all your frustrations go and just enjoy soaking in our gorgeous environment.

When you're back at your computer, however, we have provided some information for you to consider in hopes of keeping your computer working in tip-top shape, information for Macintosh users and safeguarding your computer for work and home.

We'd also like to let you know that Christopher's Computers will be closed the end of July and early August.  We will be open for drop-in appointments only on July 28 & 29 (Tuesday and Wednesday) and closed the rest of the week until Wednesday, August 5th.  Please know you can always call and leave a message with your name and phone number and we will get back in touch with you on 8/5/09.

Is Your Mac Safe From Malware?

Since the beginning of malware (malicious types of software that are usually spread on the internet), PC users have become aquainted with another layer of frustration with their computing.  Macintosh users have happily found themselves unscathed by viruses, trojans, browser hijacks, etc.  For many people who consider Macs, this may be the selling point as to why they choose to purchase a Macintosh over a PC.  Now it seems, that Golden Age may be coming to a close.

Mac OS X users are now being targeted by malware writers for this reason: its growing popularity.  Macintosh users used to be 1-2% of the computing population, but that is steadily growing (Currently at 14% in the USA, and 20% of all notebook purchases) 

It should also be noted that viruses are written for Operating Systems, specifically, for the most part, Windows.  If you are a Mac user that enjoys using Microsoft applications, like Word or Excell, you could then be vulnerable to some macro viruses.  Also, emulation software, like Windows Virtual PC.. guess what: it's not just like Windows; it IS Windows.  Be cautious about running both OS X and Windows for cross-over contamination.

In short, if you are connecting to the internet at all, you are vulnerable to malware.  If you simply use your computer offline for work or play, then rest easy...  (unless of course you plug in a USB storage device that is infected.  There are always exceptions, aren't there?)

Sources:
Intel PC Health Check
About.com

Simple & Important Things to Keep your Computer Running Smoothly

Here are a few simple reminders that you should be doing to keep your computing experience pleasant:

1. Turn Off Your Computer Every Day
Not only does this save energy, but it saves the wear and tear on your hardware.  Constant running of the hard drive motor can wear out the internal bearings.  And if you're a Windows User, you should know that your computer needs to reboot daily to keep it functioning optimally. 

2. Back Up Your Data Regularly
This is a big deal if you care at all about what you store on your computer (business information, family pictures, financial spreadsheets, etc).  There are so many different ways to save your data: You can make a copy of your information to disk, external hard drive or thumdrive.  You can also use internet-based backup storage.  We recommend Carbonite as it is affordable, reliable and automatic. 

3. Give Your Computer a Good Clean-Up Every 6 Months
Thoroughly clean your computer both inside and out.  Just like little pieces of program files which will start to accumulate and clutter up your computer, dust, dirt and pet-hair will also physically get into your computer and may cause it to over-heat. An over-heated computer will act oddly, and worse yet, eventually fry your hardware.

4. Regularly Delete Unused Programs & Files (and then, of course, empty the recycling bin!)
This frees up space on your hard drive and will allow your computer to run faster and lag less.  For those who use a POP-mail account (such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail, etc) it is especially important to keep your emails sorted and delete those that you can live without, or print them out.  POP-mail accounts can become "stuck" with a piece of mail that is too big, and clog up the whole program. 

As with any computer related issues, if you feel questionable about doing anything yourself, just call us, we'll take care of you!

How to Keep your Family and Co-Workers Safe Online

Computers have become more prevelent not only in the work-place, but also in most homes in America.  With multiple users working on one or more machines on a regular basis, it is important that you do these things to keep your computer safe while its being used online by multiple people.

1. Talk with your family and/or personel about internet use.  Give them guidelines and limits.  Unsupervised children and co-workers may be very tempted to stray from the mainstream internet and find themselves in places which are not appropriate.  This can be as innocent as clicking on a large red button that says "Free Games--- Click here!!", or opening an infected email, or even researching a topic and being led from site to site until they find themselves in the underbelly of the internet and don't even realize how they got there at all.

2. Keep your antivirus software up to date.  Many antivirus software packages update automatically, however, it is good practice to check once a week to ensure it is on, active and updated.  *Do not ignore messages from your antivirus program*  If you have questions or are unsure about updating, accepting or re-activating your software, please call us.

3. Consider putting on content-limiting software.  Cybersitter and Net Nanny (available for Mac users, too!) are some good choices for filtering the internet; there is also a free program called Open DNS which will allow you to choose the extent of filtering depending on your situation.

It is in your best interest to be Pro-Active when it comes to using the computer, and not get stuck with a virus-laden system that can destroy your working files and/or Operating System entirely.  According to a recent survey by McAfee and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 92% of those surveyed believed they had active, up to date anti-virus software, though in actuality only 51% had updated their antivirus within the last week.  Don't be one of the many who don't know they don't know!!


Source:
The Myth of Computer Security

PC & Mac Services

Request...

We are currently in the process of updating our website to include more helpful information for you, our valued customers, as well as allowing other people in the Asheville area know about us.  If you would like to submit a testimonial regarding your experience with Christopher's Computers, please email it to: Info@ChristophersComputers.com
---OR---
Mail your comments to:
306 Stone Ridge Blvd
Asheville, NC, 28804

New Office

We now have an office in Woodfin that you may use to drop off and pick up your computer.  Please do call first as we're often On-Site helping others throughout the day.

Directions to our new office:

*Take I-26 to exit #23 (this is 2 exits past UNCA)
*Go North on Merrimon 1 mile
*Turn left into Stone Ridge Business Park (Citizen's Best Hardware, etc) and continue up the hill
*We are in suite #306 between Blue Ridge Dog Kennels and UCP/Easter Seals