Welcome to this first edition of "Your Technology Update", the electronic newsletter from Clay Ingram at Ingram Consulting LLC. I have a great issue in store for you this time, so sit back, and enjoy all the Tech News that's fit to print!

A threat that comes under the disguise of a real antivirus program has increased over the past year. It offers to locate and remove malware from your PC. This fake program will actually install a Trojan Virus on your PC.
If a fake antivirus program is installed on your PC, you will begin to receive fairly persistent warning messages that your system has been infected and be advised to visit a particular site and pay for the necessary protection. You'll be told that you have a trial version of the software installed and need to upgrade to remove ALL the viruses.
They have been so successful with these scams that several of the fake programs have become infamous. WinAntiSpyware, Antivirus 2008 (recently updated to 2009, 2010), Antispyware Pro XP and AntiVirus Lab 2009 are all suspect -- and there are about 25 others.
Beware that millions of "innocent" websites are infected with it now, not just misspelled, porn and gambling websites. 

Are you backing up your data files, pictures, photos, etc? If not, it's time you start. With the possibilities of viruses and hard drive failure, data loss should be a major concern to you.
Did you know there are several ways to conduct automated backups daily? These backups can go to flash drives, external drives, secondary drives or up to online backup sites. All of these are easy to deploy, maintain and keep up to date.
With the rise of the "Fake AntiVirus" infections, rapid restoration is also an issue. Hard drive imaging is a good solution to recover from these infection disasters. A stored hard drive or DVD image allows you to restore a PC to a state previous to the infection. That image would include all programs and local files. I am finding I have to format about 20% of these infected PCs now, then install the Operating System, all the drivers, all the programs, config all the network settings and hope I can get their data files back as well. All of this restoration can be very expensive.
With a hard drive image, self restoration is possible or reduced billable support hours to rebuild the PC.
Call me today at 601-813-9646 to discuss your backup and disaster recovery needs.

To explain what Spyware is, I'll first explain what Adware is. Adware is 'freeware', whereby ads are embedded in the program. These ads will show up when you open the program. Most adware authors provide the free version with ads and a registered version whereby the ads are disabled. As such, you the user have the choice, you either use the freeware with ads served or you purchase the registered version.
Spyware, however, is published as 'freeware' or as 'adware', but the fact that an analysis and tracking program (which reports your activities to the advertising providers' web site for storage and analysis, the 'Spyware' agent) is also installed on your system when you install this so-called 'freeware', is usually not mentioned. Even though the name may indicate so, Spyware is not an illegal type of software in any way. But what the adware and Spyware providers do with the collected information and what they're going to 'feed' you with, is beyond your control. And in some cases it all happens without your consent!
These pests, known as ``adware'' and dubbed ``Spyware'' by the FTC, are software that the PC user unknowingly installs, usually packaged with other software, that makes ads pop up when the consumer is online. The software is difficult to find, uninstall or disable.
A recent survey conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance found that nearly 90 percent of all personal computers could be infected with at least one form of Spyware. Microsoft claims that half of all computer crashes reported by its customers are caused by Spyware and its equivalents. Dell reports that Spyware is responsible for more than 12 percent of all technical-support calls -- the biggest category of complaints -- in its consumer hardware division.

These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Clay Ingram, owner of Ingram Consulting LLC on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because I must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Clay Ingram and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

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