Bryn Mawr Computer Support

It seems that the non-starter on April 1 has come back around to become just a slow starter.  I suppose when they've got several million infected computers to call up as potential bots, they don't have to move fast.  News Article: Conficker Worm Finally Begins Attacking PCs(Reuters) confirms that we're not out of the woods yet on this one.

However, protecting yourself from this pernicious bug is deceptively easy: 

1. Make sure your operating system is completely up to date with the latest patches.
2. Make sure your Anti-virus software is up to date with the latest virus definitions and is functioning properly. 

If you're not infected, then that's it.  Just be wary.  If you are infected, that's a different story. Microsoft offers some explanation and ideas, but we've not seen much success for people attempting to use the live.com tools.

Ladies and Gentlemen,  Friends, Neighbors;

We here at your trusted neighborhood computer mechanics would appreciate any and all assistance you could provide to get the word out about the quality of service we provide.

We now have listings on Yelp.com and Google Local. Both of those listings allow for the publication of reviews and/or recommendations of the services listed.  We would very much like to have our customers let the world know how we have done for them on these sites.  If you have a few minutes, please do so.  We will find a way to show our appreciation to you personally if you let us know about your review.

Have a great weekend!

You don't often get a chance to use the word 'hullabaloo'.  Please forgive me.

if you have been paying attention to the mass media lately, you may have seen information about a terrible new computer virus named "conficker".  In the code of the virus, security researchers have discovered references to the date April 1, 2009. Tomorrow.

They can't say exactly what will happen - if anything - on that date, but the consensus suspicion is that computers infected with the virus will access one of up to 50,000 URLs (Web addresses) to either get updates or instructions for the resident virus.   This could be a hoax.  It could be more.  Our opinion is that the vast majority of people who have kept their machines up to date with the latest security patches and made sure that their anti-virus software is also updated and in good working order will be completely unaffected.

So the question is; "What can we do?"  Whether you are a Windows or Mac user, make sure that your operating system software is up to date.   In Windows, go to "Start > All Programs > Windows Update/Microsoft Update" and run through the process being sure to allow Windows to install all the critical updates.  In Mac you'll want to run "Software Updates" from the System Prefrences panel.  Then make sure that your Anti-virus software is up to date.  (Procedure dependent upon the particular software.)

You DO have anti-virus software...don't you?  (We Recommend...)

If you suspect you are infected (computer running slowly, strange behavior when online, unable to access some websites, etc.), you can check easily for the specific Conficker infection by trying to navigate to the websites of Symantec, Avira, Eset or AVG - Conficker blocks access to them.  (This is not 100% confirmation, but it's a good, quick test.)

If you think you're infected with Conficker, here is a concise set of instructions to try to clean it yourself.   If you're unable to clear up the problem by following those instructions, or if you suspect more malware than just Conficker is on your machine, we do offer a flat-fee $150.00 service to clean and protect your machine in our shop.

Remember: Keep your Operating System software up to date.  Keep your anti-virus software up to date.  And BACK UP your system on a regular basis.

Hello everyone!

I'm happy to report that the website is indeed breathing again and will be back to mostly-warp-speed soon!

Please call or email us (or stop into the shop) with whatever computer and/or technology issues you may have.

Here is all of our relevant contact info:

Bryn Mawr Computer Support

400 Cedar Lake Road South

Minneapolis, MN 55405

 

(612)-256-4305

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