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Following the steps below, I have been able to remove every virus, malware, etc from the computers people bring to me. Hopefully it will help some of you out. Best of all, these are all FREE!

First of all, this is advice for computers running Windows. Nothing here is meant for Macs. The best way to get these programs is to download them onto a clean computer and put them on the infected computer with a flash drive. If you don't have that option, and your infected computer can still get online, that should work as well.

You need to do all of these in Windows Safe Mode. Restart your computer and tap F8 until you get the option to Boot Into "Safe Mode With Networking." After you run all of these in Safe Mode, I always run them again in the Normal Windows Mode to be sure.

First: Uninstall
The first step is to uninstall any current antivirus & antispyware applications on your computer if you're able to. Don't argue that you just bought them or that they've worked in the past. These programs below are all you will need from today onward and they're free.

Second: ComboFix
A great program, but I can't explain exactly how it works. This will get you back up and running so you can run the programs below.

• How To Use ComboFix - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
• Direct Download Link - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/combofix (Link Updated 8/5/11 - Click "ComboFix Download Link")

You'll download this, run it, agree to everything, and let it do it's thing. Very simple and straightforward, but very powerful. If it mentions conflicts or any messages, just do whatever it takes to continue onward. You're computer is already a mess and this isn't going to make it worse.

Third: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes is a great program that will remove just about anything you've got on your system. Download it, install it, get the updates, and then let it run. If you don't have an internet connection then download the manual updates in the second link and use that to bring the program up-to-date before running it. If you do have an internet connection, then you don't need it as Malwarebytes will update itself.

• Malwarebytes Home Page - http://www.malwarebytes.org/
• Malwarebytes Manual Updates Download - http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=3436

Fourth: Microsoft Security Essentials
Your new antivirus application. Install this, get the updates, and run it. That should do it. It will update as needed. It's created by and maintained by Microsoft and it's free. Do not pay for an antivirus. Ever.

• Microsoft Security Essentials Home Page - http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

Conclusion:
That should do it. Once you've run all of those programs in safe mode, run them again in normal mode. As long as you're not finding anything when you run them, you're good to go. You can uninstall Malwarebytes and delete combofix now if you want. Leaving them installed won't hurt anything either. You'll leave Security Essentials installed from now on. Take a moment and run your Windows Updates as well. I would venture a guess that you're not up-to-date. That can also help prevent a lot of problems.

My Advice:
You probably got this virus by clicking on something you shouldn't have. Maybe on Facebook. You need to download a more secure internet browser. It's pretty likely that you're using some variant of Internet Explorer. Stop it. Download Google's Chrome browser and enjoy the internet in the best way possible. It's blazing fast, unhackable, and refuses to use plug-ins that are known to let viruses on your system.

Chris Williams, Web Developer, WideNet Consulting

If you have a news tip or a topic you would like to see me write on, please email me at chris@chrisontech.com or write on my facebook page's wall.

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Digsby is my goto application for instant messaging, email, and social networking notifications.  It's an application that has gone through it's good reviews and bad, and has rightfully deserved the bad reviews when it got them.  However, today it is a great IM application with a clean install.  Just pay attention as you go through the install process and uncheck anything unnecessary.

What Will It Do For You?

Digsby excels at two things, bringing all of the aforementioned services together into one application in a visually appealing way, and only making you do it once because it will sync across all of your computers automatically.

Instant Messaging

All of your IM accounts (Facebook, AIM, Gmail, Yahoo, MSN Messenger, etc) can all be added to this one application.  This is nothing new, but Digsby does it well and it is half of the reason I use the app.  Each new chat you have open can be contained within one chat window and the conversations are separated by tabs. There are many chat features, but nothing worth mentioning.  It's all done well here.

Email

If you're like me, you like to use a webmail interface to access your email instead of a desktop application like Outlook.  One of the biggest disadvantages to this approach is that you don't get pop up notifications or have any other way to quickly identify if you have an email that needs to be addressed without logging into the website.  With Digsby, it will not only pop up little notifications upon new email arrivial, but it keeps it in a handy interface to quickly look them over and even interact with them such as archiving, spamming, or deleting them straight from Digsby.  I currently manage 4 email accounts through Digsby and find it very effective.

Social Networking

Just like with your email, Digsby will pop up little notifications when something happens at a social network like Facebook or Twitter.  It will also let you interact with those networks in very useful ways.  In your Facebook feed on Digsby, you can leave comments, "like" things, and also view larger versions of pictures without ever leaving the application.  It's truly one of the main ways I'm able to keep up with these things at all because of the limited amount of day time I have to spend on these sites.

Conclusion

All in all, I highly recommend Digsby as an IM client more.  It's become an essential part of my work day and almost the sole way I interact with Twitter.

http://www.digsby.com

Please let me know if you have any questions about the app and your opinion on it if you've given it a try.

Chris Williams, Web Developer, WideNet Consulting

If you have a news tip or a topic you would like to see me write on, please email me at chris@chrisontech.com or write on my facebook page's wall.

iPhone 5 Mockup

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iPhone 4 & 5 Case Comparison

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That's what the rumor mill has churned up. The rumors and speculation around Apple products have always been wild and inaccurate. However, sometimes a true leak makes it out and people go crazy. Someone who claims to be an AT&T employee has tipped off Gizmodo stating all vacation will be denied for the end of September. AT&T has done this previously when new iPhones have launched, so it's highly likely that this is true.

One rumor I keep seeing is that the iPhone 5 will be redesigned to sport a larger, higher resolution screen that goes all the way to the edge. To support this there have been unconfirmed iPhone 5 cases spotted all throughout China that point to a thinner and slightly larger iPhone 5. Here's a quote below from 9to5 Mac.

"Our new images are clear and there are appears to be a slight – not major – tear drop in the design. The case goes thick to thin from top to bottom. In addition, the sources who provided us with these two new cases have shared some dimensions. According to them, the case is 5 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide. These are tight cases so the iPhone 5 dimensions should only be a few millimeters smaller than those numbers. For comparison, the iPhone 4 is 4.5 inches tall and 2.31 inches wide."

As a current and dissappointed Droid X owner, I have to say I'm ready to get back onto the iPhone bandwagon. If there's one thing I have enjoyed about the Droid X it's the larger screen. So if the rumors are true about the size increase, I'm going to be one happy camper come this Fall.

My Advice: