Convenient Remote Repair and Computer Support Services for All Your IT Needs

March 21, 2013 by ·

During the past few years, companies offering computer support and repair services have been advancing just as fast as IT technology itself. While many more issues have arisen as a result of new types of software being developed and online threats becoming more sophisticated, the advanced expertise and skill of computer repair workers have allowed them to keep on top of things and even provide many of their services remotely, without even having to visit a customer in order to diagnose and repair an error or malfunction.

Why Hire a Remote Computer Support Service?

There are many reasons why a remote repair service can be better than a regular one:

  • First of all, remote repair will solve your problems without disrupting your daily activities.
  • You don’t have to wait for a staff member to drive to your location, and you don’t need to take your computer to the service headquarters.
  • Many errors and problems that may seem advanced can actually be dealt within a matter of minutes with the help of an experienced remote technician.
  • You can solve all your problems and continue your work without costly interruptions and time consuming repair tasks.

Can All Computer Support Problems Be Dealt with Remotely?

Remote computer support services are able to help you with many problems, including spyware, Trojan and virus removal, data backup, system speed maintenance, networking issues, operating system errors and lock ups and much more.

Some problems, however, may require onsite repair, as they may either be too complex for remote repairs or may also involve hardware problems. Therefore, if you are looking to hire a reliable repair company for long term collaboration, the best course of action would be to find one that provides helpful repair services both remotely and onsite. A good example would be Dolomite – a reliable and professional firm offering repair and maintenance services.

Many dedicated companies strive to do everything in their power to help you deal with even the most advanced problems in a timely manner with the help of their remote services. Some of them even state that you don’t have to pay any fees or costs unless they are capable of providing you with a solution.

Even though many software problems still require onsite repair, there is much talk that, in the future, remote access will be one of the most common ways of providing any types of IT repair services. Companies offering computer support continue to supply better, more improved remote services, and the advantages gained from this endeavor have become clearly visible over the past 2 or 3 years.

Filed Under: Cloud Computing, Computer Repair, General News ·

What Is a Computer Virus and How to Protect Yourself Against It with Managed IT Services

March 14, 2013 by ·

Computer viruses come in all shapes and forms, and they pose a permanent threat to your software, your files, even your hardware – a threat efficiently eliminated by Managed IT Services by providing permanently updated anti-virus solutions for your system.

Computer viruses are extremely varied. They do not behave the same way, they do not replicate or harm your computer the same way. Here are the most frequently encountered types:

  • Trojans – these programs look like useful, legitimate tools that perform a certain function on your computer, but, once installed, they can damage your computer by ruining or deleting certain files, and they compromise the security of your system by providing another computer access to your contents.
  • Worms – this virus subclass spreads through your system by replicating itself infinitely. Worms can send themselves through email systems without human aid, burdening your system so much that servers and individual computers may not be able to handle the surge of data and stop responding.
  • Macro viruses – they use the macro language of certain applications to spread themselves, and they usually infect spreadsheets and text documents.
  • Time bombs – these viruses are programmed to set off at a specific time, or their “explosion” is triggered by a certain pre-programmed event, like the person who created them gets fired.

Managed IT services can protect your computers against all these malicious attacks. These services take over the security management of your computer system and they provide permanent monitoring, virus scanning and instant response to attempted virus attacks. Managed anti-virus services perform scans and clean-ups through software installed on the computers licensed; outsourcing virus protection by turning to a service of this type also means that you will not need servers or expensive software of your own to scan your system, allowing you to reduce both capital costs and overhead expenses.

Managed IT services are not free, but the fees paid are insignificant compared to the costs of replacing the software and hardware damaged on the event of a virus attack, not to mention the costs caused by data loss and IT downtime.

If you are looking for a reliable, reputable provider of managed IT services, Dolomite is one of the best possible choices: their managed IT services are not only reasonably priced, but also comprehensive, using the latest technology to provide 24/7 system monitoring, with state-of-the-art virus protection included into many of their business packages, free of charge.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Computer Repair, General News · Tagged: , , ,

The Benefits of a Reliable IT Remote Repair and Computer Support Service

March 7, 2013 by ·

With everything being online these days, it is no wonder that many companies choose a remote computer support service over old fashioned ones for dealing with their computer repair issues.

Of course, depending on the skills of the remote technicians and the types of remote software they have at their disposal, the quality of their computer support services can differ both in terms of time and efficiency; however, when compared with regular, onsite computer repair, these types of services are much more superior in a variety of ways.

What Is Remote Repair Computer Support All About?

A remote repair session basically involves companies that offer repair services with the help of a special type of software that allows their technicians to temporarily take control of your computer remotely (through the internet) in order to deal with the problems you may have.

These can include driver installation difficulties, antivirus software installation and malware removal, wireless network setup, finding the causes of various crashes, as well as many other software or OS related issues you may have.

Also, professional remote repair firms can connect to virtually any type of device, be it a laptop or desktop computer or a mobile device such as a tablet PC. In the case of most companies, you can ask for remote assistance any time of day, and you can benefit from their highly advanced skills to solve any software related issue in a matter of minutes.

The Main Advantages of Remote Computer Support

The most important benefit of having a remote technician solve your computer-related problems is speed. Remote access can be granted in seconds, and your technician will be able to become familiar with your problem without having to ask your about it on the phone.

Also, it has been determined that more than 98% of all problems can be solved remotely, so, unless your computer presents a special case, you won’t need to wait for a computer expert to come to your home or office.

This also poses a matter of convenience for many people who are uncomfortable with having a stranger in their home. It is much more comfortable to just sit back and allow the company representative to work on their problem without disrupting their daily activities.

Moreover, you can completely avoid the inconvenience of scheduling service calls and waiting for the technician to arrive later than scheduled.

Even though you can’t get the benefit of having your video card or hard drive replaced through remote repair, when it comes to software support, most potential problems can be solved in a far more convenient way through remote computer support than any other method currently available in the industry.

Filed Under: Computer Repair, General News, Microsoft · Tagged: , , , ,

Is Security Better in Windows 8?

September 18, 2012 by ·

Microsoft is receiving wide praise for the security features it has built in the upcoming Windows 8 OS.  Here are some of the major ones.

Windows Defender

Windows Defender has been improved as an antivirus software, replacing and incorporating the best features of Microsoft Security Essentials. Although Microsoft will continue to update the latter for versions of the OS, it will update Defender as well.

Defender will function as a standalone antivirus package, comfortable to the other major antivirus packages and able to protect computers against, viruses, spyware and malware. Users may use other antivirus software that OEMs have installed and will be given short time to do so or activate the powerful  Windows Defender.

BitLocker

Microsoft’s encryption software has proven to be essential for businesses by allowing protection of data from main drives to portable devices. Introduced in Vista, Windows 8 offers several improvements in BitLocker for the user and better and faster deployment in client and server scenarios.

Administrators can now pre-provision BitLocker encryption in drive volumes before the operating system is installed. This saves time from the previously required full-scale application of the program.

The software also has a new feature that allows encryption of only the used part of the drive’s volume. This procedure is especially fitting for new drives. Additionally, a user can now change passwords or initial PINs reducing administrative time. This can also be limited at the Group Policy level.

Secure Boot

In the late 1990s, Intel began working on a programmable shell that could code system protection procedures in the system processor as trusted platform modules (TPM). TPMs mechanisms create digital signing keys that could be fed into the BIOS firmware and recognize only legitimate executables and drivers to run, effectively keeping rootkits outside the booting process.

Intel soon joined an industry consortium that included AMD, ARM and Microsoft to produce Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). Essentially, the kernel of the Windows 8 operating system protects and authenticates itself from instructions written in the CPU. The Secure Boot process in this way becomes a Trusted Boot process.

Under Microsoft’s UEFI, each component in the BIOS is digitally signed by the company and verified by a TPM key in the BIOS, allowing the main bus and peripherals to boot up and open the OS. This procedure is nearly ironclad in protecting the booting process from rootkits. As one industry pundit puts it, like Apple, Microsoft has practically married its operating system to its hardware.

UEFI also denies boot entrance of other operating systems such as the various varieties of Linux. These vendors must get digital signature keys, functioning basically as code certificates,that can be mapped in the firmware and authenticated as be part of the secure boot system. Several Linux vendors are in discussion with Microsoft regarding Windows 8 while several antivirus vendors are also adapting their platforms.

Other Features

There are many other features of the full Windows 8 security package.  Metro apps run in low-privilege AppContainers that don’t have deep access to the rest of the machine. This feature is also built in the Internet Explorer 10 browser as the SmartScreen filter improved from Internet Explorer 9. Each tab of the browser runs in a sandbox configuration that doesn’t affect the other tabs. SmartScreen has been proven to outperform other browsers in its ability to block malware.

If Windows 8 becomes corrupt, it can easily restore itself in two ways. Under the Refresh option, factory defaults of the operating system are restored and the user’s personal data are retained. The Reset option, erases all data and Windows 8 is effectively restored. Security is definitely stronger and better in Windows 8.

Filed Under: Compliance News, Computer Repair, Email News, General News, Microsoft, Security · Tagged: , , , , ,

Тhе Sophistication іn Malware

August 12, 2012 by ·

Malware writers tend tо write fоr systems thаt аrе thе mоstlу wіdеlу usеd. Malware writers rесеntlу began adopting thеsе methods оn а large scale tо help lure users tо open messages аnd click оn attachments. That’s whу thе malware terminology hаs evolved frоm basic Trojans, virus аnd spywares tо crimewares, krugueware аnd sо оn

Malware Threats
The main concept оf scanners іs tо protect а system bу catching malwares wіth signature database: thеу block оnlу whаt thеу knоw. Ноwеvеr, experts іn safety estimate thаt thе authors оf malwares constantly accentuate thеіr efforts tо encrust thеmsеlvеs іn thе mobile peripherals. Malware threats аrе bесоmіng mоrе аnd mоrе sophisticated. Аnоthеr worrying trend іs thаt mаnу оf thеsе spy malwares аlsо include multiple destructive capabilities. Installing аnd updating antivirus software whісh monitors communications аnd prevents unauthorized programs frоm bеіng run remains thе best form оf protection аgаіnst malwares.

The limits оf signature database file protection аrе evident:

  • Anу programmer саn create hіs оwn malware fоr hіs оwn goal: thе lеss hіs tool іs noisy, thе mоrе hе hаs chance оf success. Ѕіnсе а malware іs nоt discovered іn thе wild, аnd reported оr submitted, іt саn stіll be unknown fоr а long time.
  • Antivirus іs mоstlу designed tо combat malwares, аnd nоt attacks.
  • Evеn thе mоst exhaustive malwares databases саn’t tаkе thе census оf АLL аvаіlаblе threats.

Also, prior tо Vista, thе vаrіоus Windows versions wеrе pretty muсh wide open, full access, making іt rеlаtіvеlу easy fоr malware tо abuse a system. Іf уоu usе а webcam fоr online chatting, уоur computer mау bе аt risk frоm а nеw strain оf computer malware thаt gіvеs hackers control оf уоur webcam, enabling thеm tо turn іt оn, capture video аnd send іt bасk асrоss thе Internet. Mark Sinclair, Trend Micro technical services manager sауs, “Malware thаt allows hackers tо peep thrоugh webcams аrе stealthy programs, nоt easily detected bу thе average user”.

If а notebook wіth аn internal webcam іs infected wіth оnе оf thеsе malwares, sоmеоnе mау bе spying оn уоu thе nехt time уоu turn оn уоur computer. Іn addition tо malware thаt tаkе control оf webcams, TrendLabs hаs аlsо rесеntlу detected software thаt tаkеs screen shots оf whаtеvеr programs аrе running оn а computer. Аnоthеr worrying trend іs thаt mаnу оf thеsе spy malwares аlsо include multiple destructive capabilities.

Installing аnd updating antivirus software whісh monitors communications аnd prevents unauthorized programs frоm bеіng run remains thе best form оf protection аgаіnst infection. Dolomite would also recommend regular audits and continues updates of your computer system.

If you have any questions regarding problems with your computer, please let us know. Dolomite – Your Technology Source.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Computer Repair, General News, Spyware · Tagged: , , , , ,