May 2014 - Ophtek

What to do When Windows Won’t Update Properly

Company Updates, Office IT, Repairs and Upgrades, Security, SoftwareFail, Reboot, update, WindowsOphtek, LLC

May 2014

Does Windows keep telling you that the computer needs to restart to finish installing updates even after you have already restarted the computer repeatedly? Here’s how you can fix the problem.

It is paramount to install these updates correctly because getting the latest updates means getting the latest security fixes that prevent infections from compromising your system.

Before trying anything else, run a System Restore:

In Windows 7, click the Start button, click the Accessories folder, then System Tools, and select System Restore.

In Windows 8, use the mouse to swipe the right edge of the screen of the cursor, then click the Search Charm.

In the box that comes up, type restore point and click Create a restore point.

Choose the last date your computer worked correctly before the failed update. In the System Restore Wizard window, select the restore point that corresponds with that date. If the wizard doesn’t display the date in question, check Show more restore points.

After you have found the correctly dated restore point, click Next. Then select Finish to allow Windows to run the wizard and reboot.

After rebooting, run Windows Update again.

If Windows fails to update again, malware may be the culprit. Malwarebytes anti- malware is a useful tool that can remove these types of infections that block updates. For more information on how to remove malware, please refer to the following article.

If the failed updates are not the result of malware, try the Windows Update Troubleshooter. It is a free Microsoft diagnostic tool that can sort out update problems.

If all of the solutions mentioned above cannot rectify Windows update, try rebooting one more time. Sometimes temporary problems arise that prevent updates from installing. A simple reboot often clears Windows of these problems.

As a last resort, you can reset windows update. This is a very complicated process that involves precisely following the steps described in this Microsoft support article.

For more information on this or other issues with your PC, consult your local IT professionals.

New Onsite PC Solution Team Member – David Melvin

Company Updatesdavid melvin, onsite pc solution, teamOphtek, LLC

May 2014

The Onsite PC Solution team is excited to welcome David Melvin to our marketing team. David is helping us convert the latest and most important technology and IT issues affecting businesses into multimedia videos and presentations.

Prevent Programs from Installing on Windows

Security, Softwareaccount, Administrator, Install, ProgramsOphtek, LLC

May 2014

Do other people use your Windows computer? If so, you probably want to prevent them from installing programs that you are unaware of. If you are the only one using your computer, you may simply want more security and control over what gets installed.

Here we will show you how to require a password for anyone to install software on your Windows Vista/7/8 computer.

First you must be logged in as a user with administrative privileges.

To do this from Windows 7 or Vista, first click the Start button and select Control Panel.

From the Windows 8 Desktop, drag the mouse to the right edge of the screen to allow the Charms bar to appear. On the bar, click Settings (represented by a gear icon).

From Settings, select Control Panel.

From Control Panel, use the drop- down arrow next to View by near the top right of the screen. Select Category from the drop- down selections.

User Accounts and Family Safety is one of the categories that will appear. Under this category, click Add or remove user accounts.

Select Create a new account.

Choose the name for the new account. This can be the name of another person using your computer or the name for another user account used by you. Make this user a Standard User. This will require the user to enter an administrative password whenever they want to install a program. Click Create Account.

To give it a password, click the icon representing the account you just created and select Create a password.

After entering the password twice and typing in a password hint, click Create password.

Log out of Windows and re-login under the new account name. Now programs will not be able to install without your administrative password being entered.

For more information, consult your local IT professionals.

Improve Windows Performance – Part 2

SoftwareOptimize, Performance, speed, WindowsOphtek, LLC

May 2014

In our previous article Improving Windows’ Performance – Part 1 we covered how to reduce the slowness on your Windows operating system by removing unnecessary processes and programs. Here are more ways to speed up Windows and keep your productivity as high as possible.

1.) Defragment your hard disk.

Defragmenting places relative data closer together so the hard disk can run more efficiently. To open it, click the Start button, type Disk Defragmenter in the search box, and click on that icon when it comes up.

Select the disk you want to defragment under Current Status.

Next click Analyze Disk.

Enter an administrator password if it prompts you for one. You can check the fragmentation of the disk in the last run column. If it is above 10%, click Defragment disk. Enter an administrator password if necessary. The process can take from several minutes to a few hours.

2.) Use Disk Cleanup to clean your hard disk.

From the Start button, type Disk Cleanup in the search box. Click it in the list of results.

In the Drives list, Click the hard drive you want to clean up and then click OK.

In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, on the Disk Cleanup tab, select the check boxes for the file types that you want to delete, and then click OK.

Click Delete files in the next window that appears.

3.) Don’t run too many programs at once.

Lots of web browser windows or tabs and open email messages can particularly bog things down. Reply to the messages and close them as soon as possible. Also, keep only necessary browser windows and tabs open.

One of the most common causes of a slow Windows system is having more than one antivirus program running. Action Center will notify you if you are running more than one program at the same time. Action Center can be accessed from the flag icon on the task bar to the lower right of the screen.

By selecting Open Action Center, Windows can help you remove one of the antivirus programs.

For more ways to speed up your home or office systems, consult your local IT professionals.

Zero Day Internet Explorer Exploit Targets Users

Internet, Security, Softwareexploit, internet explorer, Windows, zero dayOphtek, LLC

May 2014

A zero day exploit affecting Internet Explorer 6 through 11 has been discovered which allows an attacker to execute code and install malicious software. Security firm Fire Eye has recently released the details of how this attack works.

Internet Explorer accounts for about 25% of the worlds browsers used to surf the internet. We will cover a high level summary and how you can protect yourself and your business.

How does it work?

The exploit works by loading a corrupted Adobe Flash SWF file in a webpage, which allows the attacker to modify data in memory, effectively bypassing Internet Explorer’s security and allowing any malicious software to be downloaded and installed. This can include viruses, malware, keyloggers, bitcoin mining software, fake anti-virus programs among other destructive software.

Rapid 7 shows an attack on a Windows 7 system using this exploit.

The exploit can be used on any version of Windows that runs IE 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, which means this is the first time that running a newer version of Windows does not protect you from an exploit.

What can I do to protect myself?

Microsoft has already started rolling out an update to patch the security bug, so be sure to keep your operating system up to date. It is also recommended that you install Microsofts EMET 3.0, which brings better security protection especially for older Windows operating systems.

As always, we recommend running more secure and light weight web browsers such as Chrome or Firefox and avoiding Internet Explorer unless absolutely necessary.

All Onsite PC Solution clients with monthly maintenance plans will automatically be patched during their next monthly maintenance cycle.

For more ways to protect your business and home computers, contact your local IT professionals.

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Monthly Archives: May 2014

1.) Defragment your hard disk.

2.) Use Disk Cleanup to clean your hard disk.

3.) Don’t run too many programs at once.

How does it work?

What can I do to protect myself?