GRQ Innovations, Inc.
 Innovative solutions for your unique business requirements.

Anthony's Fix-It-Yourself Page
 last updated 09/20/09
This page is placed here as a courtesy to my clients and their employees.
This page contains tools, advice and resources to assist you in cleaning up your troubled computer and to keep it running at peak performance. 
Keep in mind that you are solely responsible for downloading, installing and running any of these programs.
Click here for my disclaimer.
All of the tools referenced on this page are free or trial versions.
You do NOT need to purchase anything!
Due to the nature of the free software, these companies will attempt to sell you something.
This site links to third-party sites not controlled or updated by me.
Click here for my Glossary of terms.

The Internet is not a private at you think
Click here

How much information are you giving away each time you surf?
Click here then type in the number you see at the right of the box.
 

********** LATEST THREAT! **********
Read this especially if you use FACEBOOK

If while surfing, goggling or on Facebook and click a link to a web page that has been hacked, you may receive a pop-up box by Antivirus2008 or 2009, AVG360, or something to this effect, warning you that your computer has been infected with some nasty Viruses, Trojans or Spyware.
The box may ask you to hit Ok, Cancel, Yes, No, to fix the problem - do not click on ANY button and don't attempt to close this box with the "X"

To get out of this without any damage do the following.

Do not click their box or attempt to close it.
Instead, simply restart your computer using the power button.
Hold the power button in for about 10 seconds.
DO NOTHING ELSE

Your system will shut down and safely close their pop-ups.:

Once your computer has restarted, go to Control Panel, Internet Options.
Clear out all caches under the temporary internet files by clicking on "delete files" 

Your computer should now be fine and uninfected.

If, you accidently clicked on the box and caused their program to install, or if you just want to check out your system anyway, do the following;

Download the FREE version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link
Run this program and follow its instructions to remote any issues that might be found.

 

FREE Antivirus Programs
 


AVG Anti-Virus
After you click on the above link - click on "Download Now" 

AVG FREE virus scanner from Grisoft
This program can be downloaded and installed on your computer and will give your computer full-time virus, spyware and spam protection.  It is one of the best anti-virus programs around and runs very efficiently and takes a very small processing toll on your machine.

 

 


Avast Anti-Virus
After you click on the above link to download 

 
 

ALSO, check with your current provider if they offer FREE antivirus software - most do. 
Both Verizon and Cablevision offer some kind of FREE antivirus and antispyware protection.
Optonline offers free Computer Associates Antivirus software which includes a firewall and parental control.
If you are an Optonline customer click here for the FREE Computer Associates Antivirus software. You will need to log in to get this software - if you don't know your account information, call Cablevision at 1-866-200-9751.

 

FREE On-Line Antivirus Scanners
 These on-line programs will scan your computer and attempt to remove any viruses they find. 
They are not intended for full-time virus protection.  Use these programs to double check your system.
You may run these scanners as many times as you wish.  I suggest you run more than one if a problem is found. 
If they continue to find the same problem, most likely the virus is beyond the capabilities of these scanners to repair your system.   If you wish me to clean the system for you click here. 

Trend Micro

ActiveScan 2.0

Run one or more of the above FREE scanners by clicking on the logo.
Agree to any terms and downloads that are requested.
Run these programs once a week or whenever you feel your system may have been compromised.

 

FREE Anti-Spyware and Utility Programs

Ad-aware - designed to provide advanced protection from known spyware. Click on their logo to download their software or here for their home page.

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Click on their logo to download their software or here for their home page.

Download CCleaner 1.28.277Crap Cleaner Software - System optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast and contains NO Spyware or Adware!

 
If your system is still coming up with problems then I would recommend that you attempt a Complete System Restore.  Most computers come with a System Restore disk that will bring the computer back to its original factory settings.  Be warned that this procedure will delete all your programs and data that have been added since you purchased your computer.  So, back up your data before you begin.  
 

Click here if you don't want to go through the above steps yourself and want me to do it for you.
I only offer this service to my clients and their employees.
 
Are you having computer problems? Is your computer running SLOW?
Studies show that 8 out of 10 Internet-connected computers are infected with some form of spyware. Spyware or adware programs secretly track and record your online activity and can communicate these activities to other third parties such as advertising and marketing companies.
Spyware is sneaky and hides in the background, tracking and recording your activities. The Spyware most likely is accompanied by a Trojan virus that was inadvertently downloaded to your computer during normal surfing.  Here are some common symptoms that may indicate that your computer is infected:
  • Computer is running very slow.
  • Your Web browser opens to the wrong page (not your home page), or your browser search settings have changed without your knowledge.
  • You are bombarded with pop-up ads that don't go away.
  • You notice a new toolbar in your browser that you didn't want, and find it difficult to remove.
  • Your computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.
  • Your search results are redirected to other sites.
  • You have difficulty getting on to the Internet.
  • Internet Explorer no longer works.
  • Your computer keeps crashing.

Even if you have a virus program running you may have picked up a virus or Spyware due to the following reasons:

  • Your virus software signatures have expired and you did not renew when you should have.
    You should keep your virus software up-to-date and renew the subscription when requested to. 
    An unprotected computer can get infected with a virus almost immediately.
     
  • A new virus was just released that your virus software did not recognize.
    There are anywhere from 3 to 10 new viruses released every day.  Antivirus companies update their "virus signature" files so that your Antivirus software can be kept up-to-date.  Most Antivirus software is configured, by default, to only check for new "virus signature" files once a week. You should change this setting to once a day.  Also, not all viruses that are created get detected immediately and it may take several days to weeks for the antivirus companies to update their "virus signature" files.
     
  • You inadvertently downloaded a spyware program that your Antivirus software is not designed to stop.
    Most Antivirus software is designed to detect viruses and not spyware.  You need to protect yourself by scanning your system once a week with a program that will detect and remove spyware.

If you suspect you have a virus or spyware and you have been using your computer for on-line banking or purchases using your credit card - CALL THE BANK AND CHANGE YOUR ON-LINE PASSWORD AND TELL YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY THAT YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER MAY HAVE BEEN STOLEN.  At a minimum take a closer look at the charges to your credit card and examine your bank statement for unusual activity.  Spyware and Trojan viruses are notorious for attempting to steal this type of information.

Try any or all of the following procedures to help speed-up your computer:

Find and remove any Viruses and/or Trojans.
Run a FREE third-party scan from Bitdefender

If it finds anything - boot up in safe mode with Networking by hitting F8 before Windows starts to load and run Bitdefender again. If it finds anything, run it one more time in safe mode - if it continues to find something then you need to manually delete the virus - this gets a little tricky but hopefully it won't get to this, but if it does, write down the name of the virus or Trojan that was found and "Google" it with the words Removal Procedure.

Next turn off automatic updates from downloading when they want to.
Go to the Control Panel - Automatic Updates - choose "Notify me, but don't automatically download or install them".  
This way the computer will notify you of updates without downloading them first.  Microsoft does not care if it takes 100% of your processing time downloading updates - this way you can specify WHEN you want this to occur and not during a time when you need to get some work out. 

Next check to see if you have a corrupted hard drive.
Run a CHKDSK /F from a CMD prompt. To do this, click on the START button and type CMD - hit OK.  In the resulting black CMD box, type CHKDSK /F after the ">" and hit ENTER.  When it says do you want to check the disk on next boot - say yes. Reboot the computer and let it run through the chkdsk.  This will map out any bad sectors on the hard drive.

If you don't use AOL and you have ANY of the AOL components installed - remove them all, via Add/Remove programs.
IF you do use AOL, remove their Antispyware and any other components that you do not use.  Their Antispyware and other components slow down the performance of your computer.

If you are still running slow and you are running Norton Antivirus or McAfee - I recommend removing ALL remnants of them from the Control Panel add/remove programs and replace them with the FREE antivirus program from AVG:

If when the computer locks and IF the mouse stops moving as well - that is considered a "Hard Lock" - it might be a hardware problem such as bad RAM. 
Follow this procedure only if you are experiencing a "Hard Lock":
Download and run the FREE memory testing program from MemTest86 - This program will run from a boot CD or floppy and test the RAM in your computer.  IF it should find a problem with the RAM, I recommend that your first try the following procedure before replacing the RAM.
Unplug and open the computer - remove the RAM modules by pushing the clips at either end - run a pencil eraser over the contacts on the module - both sides (do not attempt to clean the motherboard connector this way). Re-insert the RAM modules - they should snap back in easily.   If you continue to experience "hard locks", then I recommend replacing the bad RAM module.
 

Check your Internet Speed

Speakeasy Speed Test
If you want to know what your current upload and download Internet speed is
click on the logo above and choose to run the test from New York City for accurate results.

Cablevision has just announced that they have finished upgrading their service on Long Island. 
Your new Internet speed should now be around 15 MBps on the download and 2 MBps on the upload.
For comparison the old speed use to be about 6 to 8 MBps on the download and 0.8 MBps on the upload.
If you have subscribed to the Optimum Boost service ($14.95 xtra/month) your download speed should be around 30 MBps and upload speed around 5 MBps.
Coming soon is Optimum Ultra which will have a download speed of 50 MBps and upload speed of 10 MBps.

Speed up your Internet Access with TCP Optimizer
View a screenshot
The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run.
 

2007 time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems
Starting in the spring of 2007, daylight saving time (DST) start and end dates for the United States will transition to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DST dates in the United States will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November).
Direct links
For Windows XP Patch - click here
For Windows 2000 - Time Zone Editor - click here - change to second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November.

For Windows 2003 Server Patch - click here - don't use unless for a 2003 server!
 For MS Exchange 2003 - Service Patch 2 - click here

 

How to get rid of this annoying message

DO NOT USE IT TO DELAY THE INSTALLATION OF IMPORTANT SECURITY UPDATES FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.  YOU SHOULD APPLY SECURITY UPDATES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE ONCE THEY ARE AVAILABLE

Anyone who is running Windows XP Professional SP2 knows what I'm talking about. That stupid, annoying, most ill-designed dialog box ever invented in the history of computers that asks "Updating your computer is almost complete. You must restart your computer for the updates to take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now?"
And there are only two options: Restart Now/Restart Later. "Restart Later" means that this stupid thing will ask you again in 10 minutes. Yes, if you're willing to work for the next 4 hours until lunch before rebooting, this means you'll need to answer this question 24 times. Did I mention that the dialog steals the focus?

Now, to get rid of it:
Start / Run / gpedit.msc / Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Windows Update / Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations. 

You can configure how often it will nag you (If you re-configured it for 720 minutes, means you'll be asked twice a day), or you can completely disable it.

These policy settings only get loaded when Windows starts, so a reboot is needed. If that stupid dialog is on your screen now, just stop the "Automatic Updates" service (but keep it as Automatic, so it gets reloaded on the next start) and you won't see it again.

If you want to manually load the policy settings now, open a CMD window and type in the following:  gpupdate.exe /force
 
 

Speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines AND Speed up viewing shared files across a network

Here's a great tip to speed up your browsing of Windows 2000 & XP machines.
Its actually a fix to a bug installed as default in Windows 2000 & XP that scans shared files for Scheduled Tasks. And it turns out that you can experience a delay as long as 30 seconds when you try to view shared files across a network because Windows is using the extra time to search the remote computer for any Scheduled Tasks. Note that though the fix is originally intended for only those affected, Windows users will experience that the actual browsing speed of both the Internet & Windows Explorers improve significantly after applying it since it doesn't search for Scheduled Tasks anymore.

Here's what you need to do :

Open up the Registry and go to :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Under that branch, select the key: {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} and delete it.

This is key that instructs Windows to search for Scheduled Tasks.
If you like you may want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if necessary.

This fix is so effective that it doesn't require a reboot and you can almost immediately determine yourself how much it speeds up your browsing processes.
 
 

Battery power may drain more quickly than you expect on a Windows XP SP2-based portable computers.
If you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 on your portable computer, you may find that the battery goes down more quickly than you expected after you unplug the AC power. This can happen because the computer isn't able to go into the ACPI processor idle state because of a component of the USB 2.0 driver. There's an update that you can download and apply to fix the problem. To find out more and get the update, see KB article 918005 at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918005/en-us
 

Beware of "FREE" music sharing programs and screen savers
Over 90 percent of the time I find that the root of the problem is due to someone who recently downloaded some supposedly free music sharing program or screen saver to their computer.  Most, if not all, of these supposedly "free" programs come with a very large payload of advertising software that will spy on your internet browsing habits and report this information back to them for use as they please. When you downloaded these "free" programs you agreed to this in their "terms of use".  Next time read the terms before you click the "I AGREE" button.  I know the "terms" are lengthy but skim through them to see what rights you just AGREED to give up! 

If you want to download music - choose from my selection of safe programs - click here
 
Tips for Safe Surfing:
  1. Never respond to pop-up ads. 
    Do NOT click ANYWHERE within a pop-up ad's box.  Even if the ad gives you a choice of NO to reject their offer - DO NOT CLICK ANYTHING.  Even clicking the NO choice can cause their program to download anyway without you knowing.  You best solution is to RIGHT-CLICK the AD window from the TASK BAR at the bottom of the screen and click CLOSE.  If you are unsure which box to close, close them all by right clicking at the task bar and choosing close. 
  2. Use a pop-up ad blocker. 
    I have found that the FREE EarthLink toolbar works great. 
    You can download the EarthLink toolbar by clicking here.
  3. Shoot the Messenger.
    In addition to being a security risk, Windows' "Messenger Service" is being used to "Spam" Windows users across the Internet.  If you are running Windows XP or 2000 you need to turn the messenger service off.
    Click here to download a simple program that will turn the Messenger Service off for you.  Click here to find out more about this problem.
  4. Stop using Internet Explorer as your primary browser.
    There are other FREE browsers on the market that are immune to the latest Internet Explorer virus and spyware attacks.  I recommend you use Mozilla.  Click here to download it now. 
 
Minimize Email Spam:
  1. Spammers get your email address from Web pages. 
    More than 97% of spam email is sent to email addresses that appear on web pages (either as plain text or as embedded mailto links).  Even if it is embedded in a submittal form a spammer will find it unless it is encrypted.  Ask the company that designed your webpage to encrypt any page that your email address appears.  If the company that designed your webpage does not understand the necessity of doing so, find another company.
     

  2. It's a myth that unsubscribing leads to more spam. 
    You often hear people say "you should never try to unsubscribe when you receive a spam message since spammers use your response to prove you exist and then you get more spam.. "   Research indicates that this is untrue.  Most companies will remove your name from their list when requested.
     

  3. Viewing Spam Messages Is What Generates More Spam.
         The fact is that you don't  have to respond to a spam message to verify that your e-mail address is valid. Merely opening spam messages or viewing them in the "preview pane" of Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and other e-mail programs, can reveal something about you automatically. It usually informs spammers that you saw a message, at least momentarily. How does the fact that you opened or previewed a spam message let a spammer know that your e-mail address is working?  One study found that: 83% of spam messages contain a small image that, when downloaded for display by your e-mail program, confirms your existence. Addresses in the study that received spam messages but didn't view them received a volume of spam that remained roughly steady; By contrast, addresses that opened or previewed all the incoming spam messages received approximately double the volume of spam two weeks later, compared to the "non-viewing" addresses.  So, do NOT use the preview pane.

Don't Count On Your E-Mail Being Delivered - click HERE for the article

Can We Restore Reliability to E-Mail? - click HERE for the article

Junk Mail:

If you are running Outlook 2003 - click here for the latest junk mail filters to help eliminate the amount of junk mail coming into your inbox.  Microsoft now requires you to Validate your copy of Outlook before they let you download this update.  They will check the legitimacy of ALL your office and Microsoft products that you have installed on your computer as well!

Before YOU become part of the problem and forward that email that asks you to "pass-it-on" - find out if it's truly for real by clicking here => http://www.truthorfiction.com/. Click on the search link on the left.
 
Fix for Slow Printing from MS Outlook and Internet Explorer Opening Very Slow:

#1: Clean out Trusted and Restricted sites in Internet Explorer

Download this program and save it to your desktop.
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/DelDomains.inf

Right click on the downloaded program and choose Install - nothing actually installs, it just cleans out all the "restricted  and trusted sites" in Internet Explorer.  A long list actually slows down Outlook and Internet Explorer.

#2: Change Outlook to use MS Word as its editor.
From Outlook's menu - go to TOOLS - OPTIONS - MAIL FORMAT TAB
and make sure that the "Use Microsoft Office Word 2003 to edit e-mail messages" is checked.

#3:  Changing anything in Internet Explorer under Tools | Internet Options | Security (even if you change it back again during the same visit to the tab), or alternately using the "Resetting IE Settings" button (Tools | Internet Options | Advanced | Reset), interrupts the problem for the current Outlook session only. 
 
 
File and Music Sharing Program:
I no longer recommend LimeWire as a "Safe" music sharing program.  The quality of the music has declined and the chance of downloading a virus has risen significantly. 

I recommend that you use ITunes to download your music.  The cost is cheap and the music quality is very good.
 
 
Advanced User Section:
(WARNING - Do not use these programs unless you know for sure what you are doing!)

HiJackThis Software:  This software shows you all the running and start-up processes on your system and gives you the choice to turn them off.  This software works great to get rid of Browser Hijack Software, which is software that forces your browser to always go to their selected home page and not yours. Click here to download now.

LSP-FIX Software - Repairs Winsock 2 settings, caused by buggy or improperly-removed Internet software, that result in loss of Internet access. LSP-Fix is a free utility to repair a specific type of problem associated with certain Internet software. This type of software is known as a Layered Service Provider or LSP, a piece of software that can be inserted into the Windows TCP/IP handler like a link in a chain. However, due to bugs in the LSP software or deletion of the software, this chain can get broken, rendering the user unable to access the Internet. Click here to download now. 
Click here for alternate link.

Process Explorer -  Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. The Process Explorer display shows you exactly what is running on your machine.  Click here to download now.

PsKill - PsKill is a "comnmand-line" kill utility that stops processes that can not be stopped by the task manager. Not only does it kill processes on the local computer, but can also kill processes on remote systems. You don't even have to install a client on the target computer to use PsKill to terminate a remote process. Click here to download now.

Sysinternals Suite - The Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities have been rolled up into a single Suite of tools. This file contains the individual troubleshooting tools and help files. Click here to download now.

Delete Locked Files - Click Here - MoveOnBoot enables you to remove a file that is locked by your system with only a mouse click

Nail.exe trojan virus remover - Click Here

Find out what is running on your computer.
 If you want want to know the exact purpose of any and every single process that is - or should not be - running on your PC you should use the Process Library at http://www.processlibrary.com/

They offer a FREE program that lets you immediately lookup and identify any process in your task manager - download their free program by clicking here

Never let a program take 100% of your processing time with "Process Tamer"
 Process Tamer is a tiny (140k) and super efficient utility for Microsoft Windows XP/2K/NT that runs in your system tray and constantly monitors the cpu usage of other processes. When it sees a process that is overloading your cpu, it reduces the priority of that process temporarily, until its cpu usage returns to a reasonable level.  This way your mouse won't appear to freeze up all the time when something in the background is running.   The program is FREE but they do ask that you sign up for their Forum or for a small donation.

Root Kit Removal
 From Bitdefender click here
  

Networking Resources:

Spiceworks - Free IT management software that works for you, not software that makes you work. You wish managing your network could be as simple as, say, managing your digital music.  The software is free since it is still in beta testing. Click here

 

Additional Resources:

Click here for links to free advanced utilities from SysInternals

Gibson Research -  A great resource to learn about and protect your computer from hackers.

Counterexploitation -  A resource to learn about and protect your computer from Spyware.

IPChicken - This site will tell you what your IP address is.

Registry Checker - Free scanner allows you to scan for invalid registry entries that might be causing your PC issues.
The software will inform you of where the errors exist, and what potential errors they might cause.  Fixes such problems as Internet Explorer DNS errors and page can not be found errors when access https secure pages.
 

STILL NEED HELP?

If you get stuck after trying all the above items and still need help, you can bring me your computer for a "cleaning".  I ONLY offer this service only to my clients and their employees.
 
Here are my rates (take off $25.00 total if paying by cash)
Basic clean up - speed up system, removal of minor viruses, spyware, temp files, registry clean up.  $125.00
Complete clean up - total format and reinstallation of Windows with customer supplied disks (this deletes any data) - $125.
Data transfer - If you want me to back up your data - add $50.  
Add "free" version of AVG antivirus software - add $25.  Add Microsoft anti-spyware software - add $25.
Add $25 for each application you wish me to install - including your own licensed antivirus software. You need to supply the licensed copy of the program. 
Data recovery is billed by the hour.

I only need the CPU unit brought to me (I don't need any wires, keyboard or mouse). 
If you are bringing me a Laptop, please make sure you also bring the charger. 

If you have been infected with a virus, I strongly recommend that you change any on-line passwords that you have been using. Many viruses are designed to steal your credit card information, passwords to on-line banking, etc... 
It's a good idea to make all your on-line passwords at least 8 characters long and include at least one uppercase letter and number - adding in a non-standard character like *,+,=, etc... is also recommended.
Don't create passwords with all numbers or letters -  they are very easy to hack.  A password protected Word document that has a 5 letter password can be hacked in less then 30 seconds with software I was able to download off a hacker site.

* Please make sure that you back up your data - it's always a good idea to do this often.

Anthony
GRQ Innovations, Inc.
45 Brookes Road
North Babylon, N.Y.  11703
 Anthony@grq.net
(631) 422-0969

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