Computers

What Virus & Malware Needs to Thrive on your PC

Published

3 years ago

June 11, 2019

Robert Sparks

According to the AV-TEST Institute, more than 390,000 new pieces of malware are detected each day. The sheer number of malicious programs gives hackers an ample opportunity to pick and choose their targets. Here is a rundown of the top 6 mistakes users make and how to avoid them to keep you and your network safe.

1) Clicking Questionable Links

Users often get caught in the trap of “oddball” sites through virtual word of mouth, or when downloading music or grabbing free photos. Clicking on a questionable link can add malware to your system that could give away access to your personal information, including bank accounts and credit card numbers. To stay safe, always stick to reputable sites before you click through.

2) Using Unknown Flash Drives

Backing-up your files and your system is important, but always be careful when inserting someone else’s flash or USB drive into your computer. External drives can be filled with malware. The bottom line: If it’s not your device, don’t use it. Scan your device regularly for viruses and other malicious

3) Downloading Unsolicited Antivirus Software

Everyone has stumbled upon a pop-up warning that your PC will be at risk unless you download free antivirus software immediately. Hackers are experts at getting you to download files before you know what’s happening, and one of their favorite tricks is to pretend their infectious code is actually a virus-scanning program to help you defend against online threats. However, clicking on this malware could actually block your computer from using legitimate antivirus solutions. Always make sure your antivirus software is always up to date with a pop-up blocker to keep unsafe links from appearing on your screen.

4) Using the Same Password without the Two -Factor Authentication

When you make all of your passwords for e-commerce, banking, and government websites the same, you’re really making a hacker’s day. This so-called “daisy chaining” allows all of your accounts to be compromised by breaking into just one. Make sure you have multiple passwords for your various accounts or use a password manager.

5) Answering Phishing Emails

As reported by the Canadian government’s Get Cyber Safe site, 80,000 users fall for phishing scams every day. The next time you get a phishing email—one that says you’ve won the lottery, need to “click here” to avoid IRS fines or to see a “shocking video”—delete it immediately. Most email systems have spam filters to catch these messages, but always check the sender (not just the name, but also the email address) and make sure it’s a trusted contact before clicking on any link you receive over email.

6) Procrastinating on Software Updates

Dragging your feet on installing necessary updates (for programs like Windows, Java, Flash, and Office) is a misstep that can help cybercriminals gain access. Even with solid antivirus programs in place, big security holes in popular programs can leave you vulnerable to attack. Microsoft recently rolled out patch MS15-081, which addresses several vulnerabilities in Office. By not downloading the update, you are missing out on the patch, and leaving your system open to an attack and potential data breach.

Users make computer security mistakes all the time and hackers are more than happy to take advantage of it!

Related Topics:Cyber Security Hackers Malware Virus

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Robert Sparks

Your I.T Guy. Tech Enthusiast. Web Analyst. DJ. Internet Evangelist. Content Creator. @techbysparks | @smashbysparks On A Mission Impossible By Others

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Computers

Best Work for Home: Desktop PC vs Laptop

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2020

Robert Sparks

As businesses worldwide respond to the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), one of the first actions most companies took was to encourage employees to work from home. Let us take a look at the Work-from-Home scenario that has been suddenly forced upon us.

When choosing a Work-from-Home computer, the influencing factors are cost, productivity. Now between a Desktop PC and a Laptop, which is the best option for you?

We all have different impressions of what it actually means to work from home. Some think it’s all just lounging in bed, binging TV shows, doing chores around the house, and watching the “work” fall by the wayside. That can certainly be what some days of working from home may look like, but for anyone that wants to keep working from home, there need is to be some serious productivity now and then.

But it all entirely depends on what your work is, and what you do? If you’re always on the go, have plenty of meetings to go too, clients to see, then a laptop would be best for you. On the other hand, you might be a Web/Software developer, Internet marketer, or you are an accountant, or someone who does administrative tasks working from home and on the Internet. A laptop is your best working tool.

But if you are a creative professional, you will have to go with Desktop PC, as it gives the ability to easily upgrade your Desktop PC for a better PC performance.

Another point is If you’re a 3D Content Creator, you will need the fastest possible PC. And laptops just don’t get that kind of work done. Not even close. A good fast workstation is 10 times faster as the fastest most expensive laptop, at least. So, if your line of work is relying on programs that need fast CPU and tons of DDR ram memory, a laptop will never be sufficient. If you are working in HR, or administration jobs, laptops are a smart choice. Usually, when you are a professional, you will have to have both a Desktop & a Laptop. Knowing that both Desktop and Laptops have their own perks

For many businesses, computers are a necessary part of completing their daily business functions, when it comes down to power consumption and cutting down on your power bill as you work from home, a sleek laptop computer might seem like the obvious choice, Laptop’s have a lower potential for maximum power consumption because they feature smaller PSUs. A performance desktop PC has the potential to chew through 400Wh at full load with a larger PSU, whereas a performance laptop may be limited to 90Wh because of its smaller PSU, so making laptops are the obvious choice to use, as you work from home

Computers

My Top 3 Favorite Fastest Laptops

Published

3 years ago

June 9, 2019

Robert Sparks

You’re here because you want the fastest laptop your money can buy? There are different kinds of speed when you’re talking about laptop performance

The idea of speed can be sliced a bunch of ways, but in practical terms, you can look at it in terms of (1) CPU processing power and (2) graphical prowess for tasks such as PC gaming or graphics-accelerated content creation.

Higher-powered CPUs or GPUs on a given platform tend to (1) cost more, (2) require more electricity when fully engaged, and (3) run hotter when taxed to the max. That’s why buffed-up gaming laptops or high-powered workstation laptops tend to be thick, heavy, expensive beasts.

My Top 3 Fastest Laptop Recommendations is based on CPU Speed, Storage, System Memory, Sleek and Thin Design?

Apple MacBook Pro 15-Inch (2018)

Excellent battery life. Core i9 processing muscle. Sleek, thin all-metal design. Beautiful display with automatic color-temperature adjustment. Roomy SSD, the sleek 15-inch MacBook Pro is now one of the most powerful desktop-replacement laptops you can buy, making it an excellent choice for well-heeled, on-the-go creative pros.

Dell Precision 5530

Remarkably thin and light. Formidable six-core Xeon horsepower. Gorgeous 4K touch screen, Dell splices its XPS 15 DNA with its Precision mobile workstation line to create the 5530, a lightweight basher with overpowering six-core Xeon and Nvidia Quadro chops and a spiffy 4K touch panel.

Alienware 17 R5

Top-end gaming performance. Slick chassis with sharp lighting. Oodles of storage and ports. 1440p G-Sync display. Configurable, with less expensive models a strong value, the Alienware 17 R5 gaming laptop delivers serious power in a big, but nicely built, package. The model we reviewed is expensive, but the configuration choices offer well-priced options for different budgets.

HP ZBook 17 G4

Stunning 4K DreamColor display. Two Thunderbolt 3 ports. VR-ready Nvidia Quadro P5000 graphics, formidable in every way (starting with its price), the HP ZBook 17 G4 mobile workstation and its color-calibrated UHD display are ready for the most demanding jobs, from video editing and 3D rendering to VR authoring.

Which type of laptop is best for you? Call us Today for the best deals on laptops: 0244127040

Computers

The best laptop 2019: our 5 best laptops to buy

Published

3 years ago

June 9, 2019

Robert Sparks

1. Dell XPS 13

New and improved for 2019

CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4k (3840 x 2160) | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD, Price: $1,099.55 View at Amazon

The Dell XPS 13 has been a regular of our best laptops list for years, and the 2019 model is no exception. It retains everything we’ve come to love from Dell’s flagship 13-incher, from the gorgeous and light design, to the powerful modern components that power it. The Dell XPS 13 rocks an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and a bezel-less ‘Infinity Edge’ display, this Dell XPS 13 continues to be the most popular Windows laptop in the world.

2. HP Spectre x360 (2019)

The best 2-in-1 gets better

CPU: Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch full HD (1,920 x 1,080) – UHD (3,840 x 2,160) touchscreen | Storage: 256GB – 2TB PCIe SSD, Price: $1,999 View at Amazon

The HP Spectre line of Ultrabooks and 2-in-1 laptops has always consisted of extraordinarily attractive devices. So, when we say that the 2019 Spectre x360 takes things to another level, cut design and sleek profile. Couple that with the powerful Intel Whiskey Lake processors and long battery life.

3. Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar 13-inch 2018

The best MacBook Pro ever, improved for 2018

CPU: Quad-core Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch, (2,560 x 1,600) IPS | Storage: 128GB – 2TB PCIe 3.0 SSD, Price: $1,638.92 View at Amazon

If you’re after the latest and greatest laptop from Apple, we suggest you look into the 2018 model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. While Microsoft had the performance edge over last year’s MacBook Pro, with the Surface Book 2, Apple has come out swinging with some seriously beefed up specs for the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2018, and even more so if you go for the larger 15-inch model. The headline Touch Bar – a thin OLED display at the top of the keyboard which can be used for any number of things, whether that be auto-suggesting words as you type or offering Touch ID so you can log in with just your fingerprint – is again included. It’s certainly retained Apple’s sense of style, but it comes at a cost. This is a pricey machine, so you may want to consider one of the Windows alternatives. If you’re open to switching to a PC, definitely consider the XPS 13 or the excellent MateBook X Pro. But, if you’re a steadfast Apple diehard, this is definitely the best laptop for you!

4. Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701

The best gaming laptop of 2019

CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 (8GB GDDR6 VRAM, Max-Q) | RAM: 24GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 144Hz panel | Storage: 1TB M.2 SSD, Price: $3,229 View at Amazon

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 is the best gaming laptop of 2019 thanks to its powerful components that include a 6-core Intel processor, and the latest RTX 2080 graphics from Nvidia. It’s also one of the best Asus laptops ever made. Not only is this a brilliant performer, but it’s also impressively thin and light as well, but be warned: this is a very expensive laptop.

5. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2

A brilliant sequel from Microsoft

CPU: Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.5-inch PixelSense (2,256 x 1,504) | Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD, Price: $999 View at Amazon

Microsoft’s second attempt at a pure laptop device is an absolute winner in our view, and while it doesn’t represent a huge overhaul of the original Surface Laptop, it offers improvements in all the areas we were hoping for, including updated hardware that brings serious performance benefits. This is a laptop that finally delivers on what Microsoft set out to do with the original: a pure, powerful Windows 10 laptop experience.