Windows 10 Performance Boost – Mini Review

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I’ve been skeptical of new versions of Windows for a while. I was a die-hard XP user, and loved Windows 7, but my primary work PC for day to day computing was dedicated to a laptop running Ubuntu 14.04. While Ubuntu itself did not provide all of the software I needed, it allowed me to accomplish most tasks, while simply delegating Windows software to an XP virtual Machine. As the years rolled on, Ubuntu was starting to get on my nerves, with small annoyances and hardware incompatibilities. Even though I wanted to give Windows another try, I felt Windows 8 […]

Windows 10 Upgrade Caution

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If you are ready to make the switch to Windows 10, please make sure your software is fully compatible with the upgrade. Some software has been known to cause issues when upgrading to Windows 10, leading to a computer that is not fully usable. The Cisco VPN Client Version 5 is NOT compatible, and will cause all network connections to be unusable and possibly irreparable, requiring a reinstall of Windows. The safest option when upgrading is to remove any programs you do not need before the upgrade, and reinstall them after the upgrade. Programs which may be best to remove […]

cryptowall

Virus Removal / Poweliks Rootkit

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I recently had a run in with a computer that, despite appearing clean, would use an incredible amount of bandwidth when plugged into the network. Despite the heavy bandwidth usage, every virus scan came back clean. A few days of on and off messing with it, and I decided to run Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit beta. Sure enough, there was a virus on the computer, and it was a sneaky one. The Poweliks virus hides all of its code in the registry and injects itself into other processes. Rootkits are specially designed viruses which trick the OS into hiding them. Rootkits can be in […]

computer repair and virus removal green bay

Cryptolocker Clones (Cryptowall) and Ransomware

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A recent (and terrible) new trend emerging in malware infections are the use of ransomware. While normal malware may simply lock your computer or infect it with unwanted ads or utilities, ransomware holds your files by encrypting them and hiding the key to unlock them until you pay a specified amount of money to the attacker. The fees vary, but may be upwards of $500 with no real guarantee of unlocking your files if you do manage to pay. The only reliable method of defense against this type of attack is to keep regular backups of your data. While these types of […]

Bogus Invoice

Fraudulent Emails and Invoices

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Recently, we’ve had questions regarding receiving an invoice similar to the one shown on the right. If you host your internet services with CNet System LLC and receive an invoice from another company you do not recognise, it may either be a scam email, or a mistake from a company that failed to discontinue their services when requested. Internet scams are a very large problem today. It is common to see a legitimate looking email which appears to be an official document from the company stated, while in reality, it may be a scam email trying to get your information […]

What are Virtualization and Cloud Hosting?

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The tech industry is full of buzz words; each month, some new technology shows up that people can’t stop talking about. A few recent tech trends that seem to have stuck around are “the cloud” and “virtualization”. The general description of “the cloud” seems to be that your data is simply floating in cyberspace, ready for you to access anywhere, while virtualization is the process of taking a physical system and making it completely virtual. That certainly sounds impressive, but what exactly does this mean to you? Not all cloud hosting is the same. Cloud hosted data has to be […]