Mitchell Information Technologies Blog

Scareware - and Virus Removal

2011-03-17T13:26:00.002+13:00

Lately we have experienced a surge of 'Scareware' infections around the Waikato which can range from Medium to very Severe threats.

These are generally not easy to get rid of and may take several hours of different Steps and Scans before reaching a satisfactory resolution.

These tend to immediately download and infect your computer with other viruses with varying purposes in an attempt at self preservation. These viruses cause an array of problems that can involve data loss - but all of them are specifically designed to stop you from installing, downloading, updating or using any sort of product that could detect and remove them.

How to Identify Scareware -
Most Scareware go unnamed, and may even pose to be something they are not - but the symptoms are virtually always the same.

Scareware reports X amount of viruses on your system - which will lead onto a scan then eventually a request to pay or licence the product before you can remove the threats
Network connections may cease to operate, even though connected. The scareware downloads viruses to lock you out of your own internet connection - but can still use this to preserve itself or download further viruses.
More and more are able to take over Safe Mode as well.

Easy Steps to remove less Severe Infections -

When you Boot your computer, just before your Windows Loading screen appears - hit the F8 key to bring up a menu and choose 'Safe Mode with Networking'.

You should be able to quickly tell if Safe Mode has been infected by any symptoms passing through.You may have varying degrees of functionality - however if you can access the internet try the following:

Before we can deal to the viruses we must first deal to the Source -

Download MalwareBytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/), Install and Update immediately.

If you cannot access MalwareBytes after install then it is likely a virus or the scareware itself has hijacked your Executable Commands within Windows. Proceed to "If you cannot use Safe Mode".

Do a full system scan with MalwareBytes which should remove the Scareware and other Malware.

Now lets deal with the secondary Viruses -

Use existing Commercial product to do a scan for secondary virus infections. It is also recommended that you download other trial software such as Trend Micro, Bullguard and Bit Defender to run secondary scans.

If you cannot use Safe Mode - (Advanced)

If the Scareware / Viruses have managed to take over safe mode then this usually indicates a more severe infection and may need specialist attention to ensure all infections are found and removed.

We cannot provide a guide here due to the advanced nature, and root access to the Windows File system which can be easily corrupted with mistakes!

Download and Burn TRK (Trinity Rescue Kit).

Boot to the TRK CD.

To first 'Disinfect' any core windows files enter and execute the command

"virusscan -c -a bde"

And answer the questions asked.

Please note this may take some time to complete.

Then do secondary scan, enter and execute the command

"virusscan -a clam, fprot, va"

Please note this may take some time to complete.

Now you should have dealt with the nasty infections blocking you from using Safe Mode properly.

Type the command

"reboot"

Remove the TRK CD from your drive and follow the instructions above for "Easy Steps to remove Less Severe Infections".

Please contact us should you need assistance with removal (www.mitchellit.com).

New Zealand broadband: A Digital Inequality.

2010-01-15T16:12:00.006+13:00

Most of you may have heard about the Digital Divide, which separates the internet “haves” from the “have not’s”, but more importantly the inequality of life this separation promotes; however if you look at the inequality of broadband in New Zealand, is there any wonder why people don’t bother?

An example, not related to Broadband in New Zealand, but to highlight the inequality;

You have a friend who purchased a really nice Ball Point pen from Company X, and impressed, you also buy a Ball Point Pen off the internet; excited, it arrives a few days later and you rip into it only to find a Crusty old Chewed up Pencil.

You then ring Company X, and after a 20 minute wait and being bounced around 3 different operators, you are finally speaking to the right person. They tell you that the pencil was in fact a Pen when they packaged it, but due to factors outside of their control, the quality of the Pen may vary by the time you receive it.

Not once did they offer to send a replacement, or review their means of delivery.

HOLD ON, WAIT JUST A MINUTE.... Doesn’t this go against some Fair Trading or Consumer Guarantee act???

The simple answer is, YES, in any normal situation you are covered...

but with the Internet, and Broadband Capable Internet Service Providers in New Zealand; they have forced us to accept their lack of responsibility over the delivery methods, which unfortunately affect’s their service quality greatly.

Where does the responsibility fall if not with the people YOU ARE PAYING for the product/service; or at least for those people to follow it up with the people responsible at least?

The only thing which does seem to stand out amongst the crowd is an ability to provide support to customers. Whether or not they waste your time or cause you more inconvenience, seems to be irrelevant in any case.

Now, while many have their own horror stories for New Zealand Broadband, examples of this in-equality comes from my own experience but also confirmed by years of helping people setup and configure their internet connections.

I have lived in three different houses in my city, and from all three houses the pricing of my Broadband changed very little however the responsiveness and performance varied greatly. (In fact truth be told, I am paying twice as much now, given my need for responsive internet in my line of work, for only half the speed I had at Hillcrest – 5m/bit average, while only 2.4m/bits average, where I am now).

My question TO ALL broadband capable ISP’S in New Zealand.

Why am I paying the SAME money for you to deliver less than HALF the service I used to receive? I am actually paying twice, but that was my own choice to unsuccessfully try and get better internet.

Who is responsible for the gross inequality of this ‘expensive’ service?

Doesn’t this unacceptable spread in service quality indicate some sort of need for a tiered pricing structure?

Cloud Computing, Destined to be the Next Big IT Cliche!

2010-01-07T16:23:00.002+13:00

You know, in my years in the industry I first heard this term at University around 2006 in one of my many programming papers. Cloud Computing... Huh, thats a pretty cool term I thought to myself...

Well someone else did too, because now its all over the show; being used by companies left right and center to sell their products through the indication that there is some new technology behind this 'special cloud computing' where in actual fact there is not. It is just a term, with no more meaning than if someone had come up with another word for 'Browser'.

Cloud Computing, as it was explained to me by a my Lecturer, with a PHd at University; "outsourcing and decentralization of processing power". This is technically a definition of Distributed Computing, Virtual Private Networking.

An excellent example of 'Distributed Computing' is the Stanford Universities, Folding@Home application (or I believe they call it 'Life' on the PS3); which essentially takes what ever processing power your Home PC, or PS3 is un-used at the time and use this to processing Protein Folding scenarios.

Client Side programming, which has been around for decades, is also a form of 'Cloud Computing' in the sense that you are 'Outsourcing' and 'Decentralizing' a particular process out to your Users or (Clients).

So in conclusion, I am steering away from the term Cloud Computing due to the confusion it is bound to generate over the coming years; and its wide overuse in the IT industry; to specifically represent a single, or subset of technologies; which may be more expensive but virtually no different than the service you are receiving now.

True Cloud Computing would technically mean something getting CHEAPER due to the outsourcing/decentralization and reduced resposibility to administer the processors doing the work.

I wont even bother linking you to a Definition of Cloud Computing; because the question is; who's definition is actually correct? Every one seems to want to Narrow it down, and the simple fact is; Cloud Computing is a GENERAL term used to represent a wide range of technology (not neccessarily new) and add a new 'marketing twist' to help sell, and perhaps justify a higher price what could be the same product or service thats been around for years.

The Battle Between Wireless and Cordless Phones

2009-12-08T16:56:00.002+13:00

Well, the battle continues..

If you have been experiencing problems with your phone and wireless internet (or wireless in general), then it MAY NOT be your line filter (although this is one likely cause).

Firstly I will begin this by explaining what causes this problem.

Most Wireless Standards operate on the following Specifications 802.11b/g and less commonly the faster and supposedly more reliable 802.11n standard.

These Wireless standards both operate at a frequency of 2.4GHz. Which is roughly the same as 9 out of 10 cordless phones operating in New Zealand. And, even if you dont have a Cordless phone that interferes and you live close enough to your neighbours; they might.

The Neighbours Cordless Phone? Your Kidding?
Unfortunately we are not. This shouldnt however 'drop' your wireless connection entirely, but could reduce the wireless throughput (volume) / performance for the duration of your neighbours gasbagging.

There is really two simple solutions and one POSSIBLE solution; we opted for Option 2.

Possible Solution:
(1) Adjust the Channel of your Access Point to be at its Highest or Lowest setting. I find higest usually works best to minimize the interference; however dependant on the actual operating frequency of your Cordless phone.

Solutions (if the problem was caused by the above):
(1) Replace your 2.4GHz Cordless Phone(s) with 5.8GHz Cordless Phone(s)
(2) Throw out wireless, go back to a Traditional UTP Network. Costs a bit more to setup, and generally requires technicians to come out and install Cables, Switches, Jackpoints at your premesis, but provides a thousand fold better connection in terms of reliability (there when you need it, not affected by Phones, Weather, etc) AND performance (up to 1GBit on a standard CAT6 connection) than ANY wireless standards could ever promise.

I have done a few Wireless excercises lately; and as much as they seem to promise, they just dont live up to their expectations with the random signals that go flying around our atmosphere from all sorts of wireless and mobile devices; let alone weather.

Recomendations for Networking:
If you own your own property and can justify an expense of $1,000 min (depending on how fast, and how many jackpoints you require and any other network hardware you might need to suite your requirements), then I would recomend investing in a 1GBit CAT6 network; we can hide the switch hardware and put jackpoints around your house where computers and/or entertainment equipment is to be connected.

If you are renting, then unfortunately you would need to speak to your landlord about this investment due to the work that would need to be done on your property; otherwise Wirless is your best option unfortunately. Just upgrade your phone before hand and you should be fine (but bear in mind this is not the only source of interference your wireless network might be exposed to).

Why was it working OK Last Week?
Well, technically, it wasnt (if you got any phone calls last week anyway); but the channel interference was so minimal you didnt notice anything more than perhaps a sligh scratching on your phone line.

Note: If you are hearing more of a digital sound (you will know it from scratching) then this could mean your DSL and Phone is unfiltered or that there is a faulty filter around somewhere. It could be more 'DSL' issues you are having with your phone than Frequency Interference, so get that sorted out first :).

Anyway, I hope this helps some people.

Windows 7... A Toast to Microsoft.

2009-12-01T13:35:00.000+13:00

Although I am not quite over the fact that they sold me on half of my Client Workstations for Vista, I had to buy into the hype for Windows 7 and have a go.

Remarkably, the results are not as un-satisfying as I originally thought.

Traditionally, Microsoft has had a long line of Winners and Losers, two of these Losers being ME and Vista (with vista to shortly find the waste basket of many offices like ME and Microsoft keen to rid themselves of that embarrasment, again like ME). So many Millions, if not Billions would have been spend upgrading to Microsoft Vista now within a short matter of time, they have to do it all again with Windows 7.

Although I cannot say much about their business ethic, stopping short of ever apologizing for an obviously bad product, I have to say they have done well for a 'First Release' of Windows 7, although the 'First' release is debatable.

Many, including myself, see it as 'Vista' but with out all the problems. So essentially, it appears they have taken their Vista Product, fixed many of the problems, renamed it (to avoid the stigma the vista name was building) and resold it as a new Operating System. My suspicions are that this is actually second release, like Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) which was a very stable Operating System for its time.

I have to commend the improved interface, usability and feel to the operating system. It certainly does live up to the expectation of 'Faster Performance' and 'Stability' when compared to Vista. I would say, although its not quite at Windows XP Performance and Stability levels, its definately close and should not take Microsoft long to get it right.

I cant wait, because to be honest, I loved the whole Vista thing; just hated the problems. Windows 7 seems to be just what I was looking for, but I will be waiting another 6 to 12 months for more updates before I upgrade any more PCs as there are still the odd noted and inconvenient, but not major, issues.

Good Luck Microsoft and I will be following your Windows 7 announcements closely now that you have somewhat restored my faith in Microsoft Operating Systems.

Welcome to our New Blog

2009-12-01T13:10:00.000+13:00

Welcome to our New Blog hosted at Googles BlogSpot.

Rather than fussing with the details of administering our own hosted blog, we decided to leave that to one of the many many companies (google being one of our favourites) that have invented this wheel over and over again.

Thanks to Google for this great tool, and the so many others they bring the public free of charge. Google puts the open in open standards, being the foundation of the internet technologies that we should all strive to achieve.

I love Google :)...