Repairs
Our friendly staff will offer you fair and sound advice on any computer or laptop issues you've been having. From decreased performance to upgrade advice. Please feel free to call in and see us or call us on 0191 251 6080. Alternatively you can email your enquiries to info@monkseatoncomputers.co.uk.
We understand that it is daunting and that you just want it fixed but virus infections have advanced technologically so much in the last 2 years that we strongly advise you understand the implications of the way your computer is repaired. This is your best opportunity to make a well informed decision.
Broadband internet carries with it some considerable risks, most commonly, virus infection, malicious software (malware), phishing and identity fraud. At best you could end up getting tons of junk email and at worst you could have your bank account emptied!
Going out and buying a new security product is very unlikely to solve the problem and in most cases will make matters worse. Security software requires that the machine it's installed on be clean and free from any infections before its installed (similar to an inoculation) and more than one security system on a single machine will cause it to grind to a halt as the 2 systems conflict with each other.
Common methods of contracting an infection:
Limewire, Azureus(Vuze), Bittorrent or similar file sharing clients; usually used to download music/films from the internet are present on most of the infected machines we see. Effectively if you allow such programs access to the internet you are bypassing much of your security system and you have no way to know exactly what you are downloading and what hidden surprises may come with it. Also, you know those annoying adverts you see or the spam you get? Programs such as Limewire can "track" what you do on the internet and then the program makers sell this information to interested parties who send you the targeted adverts.
Email is another very common way to get an infection, especially if you use what is called "Client side" email software like Outlook/Outlook express/Thunderbird/Windows Mail. We consider it safer to use "server side" or "Web mail" instead like Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail. In this situation emails are not stored on your computer. They are stored on the providers email/web servers and merely viewed on your computer using your normal web browser.
Other more obvious methods of infection are from adult websites and gambling sites but somewhat less obvious are things like websites that provide guitar tabs, music lyrics, screen savers, smiley icons.
If you suspect your computer is infected, there are two possible ways to deal with it:
1. Attempt to remove the infections and "clean up" your computer. This used to be what we would do in most cases but in recent times we are finding that this approach is less and less successful as the infections become more complex and difficult to remove. In some cases successful removal of the infections leaves the operating system (windows) in such a bad state that it requires re-installing (see 2) anyway.
2. Back up your important files, wipe the hard disk completely and then reinstall windows, drivers and security. We then virus check your files and copy it back to your cleaned hard disk. This is the only way we can be nearly certain your machine is free from infection.
We estimate that currently 70% or more of the work we do is virus/malware removal. We are therefore uniquely placed statistically to see which security products work well and which do not. You may be surprised to learn that most of the ones you've heard of don't perform very well at all, for example the user has the security system up to date and runs regular scans but when we check the hard disk it's infected. We see a lot of situations like this every week!
With very few exceptions free Antivirus/Firewall/Antispyware products do not work! Do not use them, you only get what you pay for!
Infection Removal vs Reinstallation - what to expect in each case:
After attempted infection removal, you should find your computer largely unchanged. It's unlikely to be significantly faster and everything will be familiar and just about as it was before. All of your installed programs should be there and work, your printer should work, your emails/contacts should still be there and your internet/wireless connection should work, however there is the chance that an infection might remain and/or return. There is no 100% method to tell if all infections have been removed, no guarantees of any kind.
Something to note at this point is that: No security product of any kind will always remove 100% of virus infections!
Not even the best will always find them all. Diligence is your only hope. This is why we strongly recommend reinstallation.
Reinstallation:
This is a lengthy process which involves the complete removal (or wiping) of all the information from your hard disk.
To clarify, once your hard drive has been wiped: No software or files of your old system will remain.
We then install a fresh copy of your operating system (in most cases Microsoft Windows) and any updates we feel appropriate, drivers and Security System.
At this point your computer will be just about as good as it's capable of being, in terms of performance and cleanliness. An added advantage to reinstallation is the removal of years of often redundant programs and fragments and temporary files which "clog up" your computer which you never realised were there.
In most cases you will notice that your computer is faster, something that some people spend thousands trying to achieve!
After reinstallation your computer will be pretty much as it was when it was new, it will not look and feel just like it was before we began and there will be things you will need to do yourself; for example:
Your printer may need to be set up, your internet and/or wireless may require setup, you might have to install your office/photo programs again and any other hardware you might have! We can install this stuff for you but you will need to bring it all to the shop and additional charges will be made. In this regard, you must tell us if you want anything like this done, if we don't know about it, it can't be done!
If you have any disks which came with your computer when you got it please bring them with you, they might speed up the process of reinstallation and hence reduce the time you have to wait to get your computer back!
Data Backup:
Before we reinstall your computer we need to know exactly what you want us to back up. Unfortunately backing up "Everything" as some people have requested is not possible. That would also back up your infections and problems.
What we mean are the documents/files/photos/music/emails/contacts etc. which are really important to you (we can't back up programs because of the way windows works) This is very important. Be very specific and don't make any assumptions! If you don't tell us to back it up then it will be completely irrecoverable without spending fortunes with data recovery companies.
Some things can be difficult or impossible to back up or in some cases risky (eg emails) and we charge for backups by quantity/time! Many parents are happy for their kids to demand their 50GB of iTunes be backed up until we tell them it's going to cost £1 per GB (£20 minimum)
We strongly recommend that you have a system in place to backup your important stuff up regularly. Please ask us for details.
If you really "must have it back soon" ask us about our Priority Express service.
This Information, although lengthy, is designed to help both ourselves and our customers. We appreciate you taking the time to read it and if you have any questions we'd be happy to answer them for you.
