Articles Archive


1/4/05

Lately the problem with virus and spyware has been going through the roof. I'm finding 9 out of 10 repairs that people bring their machines in for is virus and/or spyware related. Someone infections are fairly straight forward to clean, others are a down right pain. Infected computers will exhibit a number of problems, including running unusually slow especially on the internet, or constant and annoying pop-up windows advertising things like porn, gambling and other unsavoury things. Some even tell you things like 'your computer is infected with spyware... click here to fix it'. Most of the time, these are just scams inviting you to download even more spam or steal your credit card details! Don't believe ANYTHING that pops up on your screen unless you ask for it!

You need to have reputable anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software to fix these problems and prevent them from happening in the future. You can't go past Vet Anti-Virus, Pest Patrol Anti-Spyware and eTrust Firewall software. Australian made and Australian supported (no being re-directed to and Indian call-centers where the monkeys hardly speak English!). I've been using Vet Anti-Virus for more than 10 years now, and I can personally vouch for it's excellent performance and hit-rate in identifying and deleting the latest virus and worm threats as they occur. With almost daily updates, Vet is always up to date and works where other anti-virus programs fail to detect or they detect and fail to delete viruses.

You'd think that spyware can't be that harmful, but unless you're one of the unfortunate ones that's been infected you'll know where I'm coming from. Annoying popups and scams, hijacking your Internet Explorer and computer, stealing passwords, and more. That's why it's call 'Spyware', cause they spy on your internet activities and steal personal information. Some spyware even download viruses and worms to your computer! It's a total minefield out on the internet, spyware and viruses hiding behind the most innocent webpage. You'd be shocked at just how much spyware your computer already has and you don't even know it! Next time you get an annoying popup that you may quickly dismiss, stop and think as to what else is going on in the background without your knowledge.

Look I hate bagging specific products, but I've had so many issues with a certain brand of product that I'm contemplating on taking it off the shelves completely, except that certain people insist that it's a good product and want to purchase it. They don't want to listen to my advice and rather take the advice of their third cousins brother-in-law who knows someone who had a computer once! I'm the one that sees these problems on almost a daily basis! Namely Symantec Norton. Show me more a more woeful anti-virus program on the market and I'll change my tune.

Example #1 - A customer brought a machine in that was infected with a particular virus. Norton would alert you that the virus was detected and it gave you one option, quarantine it. You click on quarantine, and nothing. The warning would pop up again. Stuck in an endless loop. So I installed Vet Anti-Virus and scanned the hard drive while the Norton message stayed up on the screen. Vet identified and deleted the offending virus. In fact it actually deleted a whole bunch of viruses. I restarted the computer, and Norton finally stopped nagging. The customer was soon convinced that Vet was a much better product and changed sides.

Example #2 - A customer came in with virus problems I noticed that their Norton Anti-Virus 2001 was out of date. I recommended that they swap over to Vet, but they insisted that they should stick with Norton. So I grabbed a 2004 edition (current version at the time) and I attempted to install it over the old one. It complained that an older version was detected and insisted that I uninstall the old one before I could install the new one. Fine. So I went into Control Panel, hit Add/Remove Programs, and selected Norton Anti-Virus. I get a message saying that a particular file could not be found and therefore could not uninstall the old one. So I'm stuck. I can't uninstall the old one, I can't install the new one. I decided to contact Norton here in St. Kilda Rd, Melbourne via the tech support phone number, and I soon found myself speaking to someone in India. I explained the problem to them in detail and after waiting for them to key into their 'knowledge base' a few key words they directed me to a webpage on their self help site. I printed the instructions off and followed them to the letter, however I was still unable to install the old version. So I called them back, spoke to someone different and unsurprisingly I was told the same information. Follow the steps and you'll be right. After complaining that I had already tried that, they basically said they were unable to help me. The stupid monkeys had no idea, absolutely no technical knowhow or ability to think for themselves. All they could do is follow the prompts on their computer. That's all they were trained to do. What's the point in having a techinical support department if they can't think for themselves? Again, Vet to the rescue. I installed Vet, deleted all the viruses off the system, and modified the startup-files so that Norton Anti-Virus would not run when Windows starts. I then went through Explorer and the Registry Editor and deleted every reference for Symantec and Norton I could find on the computer and left it at that. The customer has also become a convert now.

The long and short of it all is that I've never had such issues with Vet Anti-Virus. It's always been able to detect the latest threats, I haven't had a virus infection on any of my computers in years, it never fails to upgrade whenever there is a major product update, I get almost daily updates, and most importantly, in those few occasions that I've had to speak to someone at Vet, they have always been helpful and able to properly assist me in getting the job done. They're based here in Melbourne, so it by subscribing to Vet products it keeps jobs and money in Australia, and most importantly you'll get a superior product and greater piece of mind. Vet Anti-Virus stops viruses from infecting your computer and spreading. Vet Pest Patrol eliminates unwanted spyware to keep your computer safe from prying eyes, and Vet Firewall blocks hackers from gaining access to your computer and allows you to control which programs can gain access to the internet. Vet offers the complete internet security solution.


1/12/04

I just want to take a moment to warn customers of some current scams in the market. Don't be sucked in by unusually cheap prices for notebooks and other components when you do your shopping around. I won't mention any particular names on here, but some 'dealers' have been importing certain big brand products from overseas and flogging them off on the local market. Buyer beware though, some of these machines and components don't carry Australian warranty as they weren't imported by the Australian Distributor, so you'll get caught out if it needs a service. The scam is called grey-importing and it's quite a problem in Australia. An example. Pioneer DVD writers that have been recent being sold on the market for $199 inc GST. From what I've found out, the drives are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) designated. They are not supposed to be sold as a retail product as they are supposed to be built into new machines by a system builder. A container load was imported by Acer a few months ago that were supposed to be built into a new range of desktop machines. Acer subsequently decided not to proceed with the model and dumped the units onto the local market rather cheaply. As a result, they were snapped up by the bargain hunters and flogged off by the cheap and nasty retail stores. First of all, being OEM, they come in a plastic bag, no retail box, and no software bundles (DVD authoring and video editing software). So yes, you might save a few bucks on getting a cheap drive, but then you've got to waste your time trying to download or copy pirated, unlicensed and unsupported software from the internet or friends. Secondly, the drives were not imported by Pioneer so they don't come with an Australian warranty either, so keep your fingers crossed they don't break down cause it's not going to be covered. Chances are too, that the places selling these items won't be around in a few months, or change ownership so they don't have to honour their warranty!

I've also had people calling around and comparing prices for hard drives. I had one customer literally slam the phone in my ear as soon as I gave them a price! How rude! I don't think I'm expensive, I'm only making about 10-15% margin on hard drives these days to stay competitive. Obviously he found a bargain price somewhere and STILL wanted a better price. I wouldn't be surprised that these cheap drives are also grey-imports. People who shop just on price will spend all day ringing around to save a few dollars, when in actual fact it's costing them more with all the phone calls and driving around they have to do. Seagate hard drives can be purchased with two levels of warranty as well. The standard warranty is 12 months, which you'd expect, and the second warranty has been extended to 3 years. Yes, the 3 year warranty models cost a bit more, but for the extra few dollars, why wouldn't you want 3 years warranty? After all, the hard drive is most valuable component of your computer! Your operating system, your programs, games, applications and most importantly your data are all stored on it. Aren't a few dollars more worth the piece of mind?

Some unscrupulous dealers/retailers have also been substituting CPU's in notebooks to bring down their prices. Certain Toshiba notebook models have had their Pentium Mobile CPU's replaced with Pentium Desktop CPU's, which can be up to $300 cheaper at the retail level, to bring down the price of the notebook. So what you say? Well, the mobile versions of the CPU's actually run on a lower voltage than their desktop counterparts which are designed for desktop machines running on mains power. The result is lower battery life and excessive heat being generated, severely degrading the performance and reliability of the notebook. So double check and triple check if you notice a big variance in pricing between dealers. At the end of the day, Toshiba and their major wholesalers virtually sell the notebooks to all retailers for the same price, so there shouldn't be a huge difference in price between retailers. Today (5/1/04), I was shown a brochure from one dealer advertising a Toshiba notebook machine selling for $2589. I called two Toshiba wholesalers and they both quoted me exactly the same wholesale price for $2574 inc GST. Now why the hell someone would want to sell a notebook to make only $15 profit it's beyond me. By the time you pay $10-20 freight to get into the shop, you've made a loss! After the calling the dealer in question and asking about why they were so cheap compared to other stores, the salesperson said that the machines were on sale and that they're cheapest notebook dealer in Melbourne, so they can beat anyone else's prices. A bit of crock if you ask me, as the notebook is brand new model on the market, only been out for a month, so why would you want to sell it at virtually cost price? I can sell a couple of ink cartridges and make more profit! Surely they can't be that desperate to clear their stock?! The advertisement stated 'P4 2.4 CPU' as part of it's description. Now I would normally state 'P4 M 2.4' if it's a mobile CPU on my pricelist. There is a clear difference between the two. Something fishy going on there.

I've actually come across this scam before as well, a couple of months ago on a similar P4 2.0 model. The actual Toshiba part number was slightly different, one letter in the product code had been altered, but to the untrained eye, it just looked like an especially cheap price for the same machine. My customer at the time didn't listen to my advice and just thought I was expensive on the machine and ended up buying it from this other place, but soon found out he'd been had and I was right in my suspicions that something was wrong. He now promises me that he won't be going anywhere else for future purchases!

It's a nasty world out there in IT land, so don't think you're getting a bargain if you see something that's unusually cheap. It'll probably come back and bite you hard. Be wary of unusually cheap deals, stay away from the swap meets unless you're absolutely certain of what you're buying and who you're buying it from (those places are full of shonky dealers). The biggest problem we have in the IT industry is that you don't need to have a licence to sell or repair a computer. It's virtually unheard of in any other industry. Would you buy a new car from an unlicensed motor vehicle trader? I think not. Would you risk your servicing your car with unqualified mechanic? I think not. Would you buy your bread for a bakery that didn't meet health and safety regulations? I think not. Would you even get a haircut at a hairdresser without proper training and qualifications and experience? I definitely think not. So why the hell would you buy a computer or get your computer serviced by just anyone? What qualifications and experience do these places have that certify them as a reputable computer dealer? Virtually nothing! Anyone can open a store or a stall and call themselves a computer expert these days and all they want to do is flog off what they classify as a computer at the cheapest possible price, by using the cheapest possible parts. They don't care what goes into a computer and where they source their components from. It's all about price and being the cheapest. What ever happened to quality and service? Doesn't that count for anything anymore?

At the end of the day, we're all here to make a living and margins are pretty tight, but some people will go to any length to steal a bit of market share. Personally, I don't really care what these other jokers do, but I do care about my customers and selling quality parts and providing the best service I possibly can. That's the reason why I've been around for so long and plan on being around for a lot longer. Sorry if I sound bitter, but it's the harsh reality of it all. The sooner consumers wake up to what's going out there, the better the industry will become for both legitimate retailers and consumers alike. So don't support these clowns by buying their products. Scrutinise them, get them to prove their claims if you have to, question why they are so cheap and don't get sucked in by the hype. Don't be scared to put your foot down and ask the questions. If in doubt, just walk away, there are plenty of other dealers out there, you just have to find the legitimate ones. After all it's your money. Make sure you're not throwing it away. The phrase 'Buyer Beware' has never been so true.

Humph, nuf said. I gonna play some more 'Call of Duty' and blow something up now.