Mac has had a false reputation as being untouchable, and now Mac users will be faced with a harsh reality of a world full of malware, and viruses. Mac’s success has shown as an interesting target for Malware programmers, and has seen in statistics the growing number of infections under Mac’s Platform.

� Eugene Kaspersky, the CEO of security firm Kaspersky Lab, says Apple is headed for a rough patch, and claimed that when it comes to computer security, Apple’s Mac platform was a decade behind Microsoft’s.

� “They will understand very soon that they have the same problems Microsoft had 10 or 12 years ago,” Kaspersky said in an interview. “They will have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software.”

“That’s what Microsoft did in the past after so many incidents like Blaster and the more complicated worms that infected millions of computers in a short time,” he added. “They had to do a lot of work to check the code to find mistakes and vulnerabilities. Now it’s time for Apple [to do the same].”

� The statements come on the heels of Flashback, a high-profile piece of Mac malware that is estimated to have infected more than 600,000 Macs at its peak. More recent figures put its current infection somewhere at less than 185,000 machines worldwide. –Symantec (Statistics of how many computers have been infected).

Apple patched the system vulnerability the Flashback attacks were using, and released a removal tool for infected machines. But the company got flack from security experts for not fixing it sooner. Security companies (including Kaspersky) also made Apple look slow to react by offering up their own detection and removal tools ahead of an official fix.

Apple’s also announced Gatekeeper, a technology that will be built into the upcoming release of OS X Mountain Lion, that gives users a way to install only software that’s been signed by registered developers.

Even with those things on tap, Kaspersky argues that Apple’s success will continue to make the Mac a bigger target.

“Cyber criminals have now recognized that Mac is an interesting area. Now we have more malware and it’s not just Flashback or Flashfake,” Kaspersky told CBR. “Welcome to Microsoft’s world, Mac. It’s full of malware”

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on Kaspersky’s remarks.

(Information referenced from Cnet Blogger- Josh Lowensohn)

Security Issues such as these can be easily remedied At Orange County Computer’s Tech Center. Contact a member of our Tech Team about any security issues you may be experiencing at 949-699-6619 or, email support@orangecountycomputer.com. For more information about simple steps you can take to prevent system infections, visit OrangeCountyComputer.com.

Microsoft is officially launching the reimagined operating system Windows 8, which functions on many new devices aside from a traditional PC such as: iPad on Metro Testbed app, Touch Screen all in one Desktops, Windows Tablet and Windows Phone. These new devices will debut the new touch screen feature that is available in a Beta Version on the iPad.

They reportedly will finish work on Windows 8 by this summer, setting the stage to release the next version of its flagship operating system sometime around October.

Until then, Microsoft’s Windows 8 Beta is now available as a free download, which means that it’s time to figure out how to install it.

Officially called the Consumer Preview, the Windows 8 Beta is actually quite simple to install. There are some requirements, though. Most Windows 7 computers should to be able to handle Windows 8.

To verify, you’ll want to have:

• 1 Ghz or faster processor
• 1 GB of RAM for 32-bit or 2 GB for the 64-bit version
• 16 GB hard drive for 32-bit, or 20 GB for 64-bit version
• Graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX 9 or higher

A word on what our Microsoft Certified Technician’s think:

“Windows 8 is very similar to Windows 7; it’s even faster than Windows 7, with faster boot times and shut downs almost instantly. Internet Explorer 10 has a new look to it and a few cool animations when clicking on the drop down menus. The biggest difference you will notice with Windows 8 is that it lacks the traditional “START” button, which is due to Windows 8 having a very clean look to it and allowing fluent touch screen control over Windows 8.  You can now stretch the task bar over both screens and have the ability to pause data transfers”.

There are also some extras that won’t work without certain specifics. As shocking as this may sound, the touch features will require a touch screen monitor or tablet. Accessing the Windows Store requires an Internet connection, obviously, but also a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 76, and to Snap apps, which lets you split the screen between two apps, you’ll need a resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

To get started, go to preview.windows.com.

For further information, you can also contact our Tech Repair Center and speak to a Microsoft Certified Professional that will get you started. Call us now @ 949-699-6619, email us @ support@orangecountycomputer.com, and visit our site at OrangeCountyComputer.com, to read about the importance of genuine software licensing, and software support.

Federal law enforcement agents have arrested members of two cyber-crime gangs who may have netted more than $74 million by infecting user computers with scareware and then charging for fake antivirus software.

(Scareware generates pop-ups that imitate Windows System messages, and will usually advertise as a anti-virus software. They typically state that there is a list of issues such as: “Infected files have been found on your computer” and the user is prompted to purchase the software to fix the problem. Once the fake software is installed, Malware will be downloaded and infect the system. While purchasing the fake antivirus does make the scareware stop displaying the warnings, the user will have purchased harmful malware that can potentially corrupt the system and make it unusable. )

In an endeavor dubbed Operation Trident Tribunal, federal agents seized more than 40 computers, servers and bank accounts in the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, France, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said June 22. Of the computers seized, 22 were in the United States.

The two rings infected hundreds of thousands of computers with scareware programs using a variety of tricks, and then badgered users into forking over money for fake antivirus software to supposedly clean up the infection. The fake software ranged from $49.95 to $129 apiece, according to federal agents.

“Scareware is just another tactic that cyber-criminals are using to take money from citizens and businesses around the world,” said assistant director Gordon Snow of the FBI’s Cyber Division.

One cyber-crime gang infected over 960,000 computers using Web pages that performed fake online computer scans, costing users $72 million, according to the FBI. About 1 million people are thought to have been victimized, the FBI estimated. A second group is accused of netting $2 million through malicious advertisements online.

Two suspects were arrested in Rezekne, Latvia, in connection with the malvertisement scam and have been charged with two counts of wire fraud and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer fraud. They face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on wire fraud and conspiracy charges, and up to 10 years and fines of $250,000 on computer fraud.

The duo, Peteris Sahurovs and Marina Maslobojeva, were arrested on charges made in a Minnesota court that they created phony advertising agency RevolTech Marketing to place advertisements for Best Western hotels on the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Website in February 2010. The paper’s IT staff tested the online ad and found no problems with it. When the ad was running on the site, the suspects allegedly changed the code so that visitors were infected with a malicious software program that launched scareware on their systems.

“Visitors to the Startribune.com website began experiencing slow system performance, unwanted pop-ups and total system failure,” the Department of Justice said in the indictment. The pop-ups advertised fake security software, Antivirus Soft, for $49.95. The Star Tribune immediately took action and removed the ad from its site.

Federal officials raided a DigitalOne data center in Reston, Va., June 21 as part of this operation, InfoWorld reported. The FBI seized three racks of servers from the hosting facility, causing several Websites and services, including Curbed, Eater, Instapaper and Pinboard, to go offline.

“The global reach of the Internet makes every computer user in the world a potential victim of cyber-crime,” said U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones of the District of Minnesota. The FBI worked with police in Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Ukraine, France and Romania as well as with Canada’s Mounted Police and London’s Met Police.

For more information on how you can protect your privacy on the web, go to our website or check out our information on virus removal by clicking here.

You can also contact us by phone @: 949-699-6619

By email: support@orangecountycomputer.com

If your Network Security is in question, this article might motivate you to take action. Orange County Computer is here to help.

Article written by USA Today’s Brian Acohido, October 13, 2010

Be nice to the tech folks who keep your company’s computers safe.

Microsoft Tuesday issued its largest ever batch of security patches — essential fixes for a record 49 security holes. What’s more, Oracle this week published its quarterly security update pushing out patches for 81 vulnerabilities in a wide array of Oracle and Sun Microsystems software. (Oracle recently acquired Sun.)

“It’s yet another record ‘Patch Tuesday’ for Microsoft, with updates spanning across products,” said James Walter, manager of the McAfee Threat Intelligence Service. “The volume is indicative of a trend where we’re seeing among various software vendors. As the awareness of vulnerabilities increases, the number of patches get bigger as well.”

But that’s not all. Apple also recently released a security patch for a file-sharing issue in OS X, which could allow a remote hacker to take control of your Mac. Adobe last week pushed out critical patches for 23 vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat for Windows, Mac and Linux.

“There’s no rest for the weary,” says Paul Henry, cybersecurity firm Lumension’s forensics and security analyst. “Patching this many total vulnerabilities is scary indeed and, if not managed correctly, they will certainly have a massive impact on corporate productivity.”

Security experts predict workday interruptions as these patches are tested and installed. “These updates will require a restart, shutting down computer systems for a period of time,” says Henry. “In some instances, this can take up to 20 minutes.”

Many of the Microsoft patches are for older versions of Office and Internet Explorer Web browser, including critical updates for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, that are “relatively easy to exploit,” says Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of patch management firm Qualys.

Some 24 vulnerabilities are patched in older versions of Office, so “users should apply both updates as quickly as possible,” says Kandek. “Even the new Word 2010 is affected by two of the vulnerabilities. This shows that achieving a bug-free record is near-impossible.”

Why is Microsoft still finding and patching so many security holes?

Much of it has to do with the software giant’s continued aggressive approach to finding holes before cybercriminals do. “Microsoft is working closer than ever with security researchers,” says Jason Miller, data and security team leader at Shavlik Technologies. “By working with researchers, Microsoft is closing the gap on the time to release fixes for vulnerabilities found. This is a key factor that a lot of people have been asking for, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that we are seeing an uptick in security bulletins.”

October 4, 2010

It’s about to be put up or shut up time for Microsoft in mobile. On October 11, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets CEO Ralph de la Vega will be conducting a New York City press conference to spill the beans on the widely anticipated Windows Phone 7 smartphones.

Microsoft has been rather immobile in the smartphone biz these past few years. The company’s handsets have been overshadowed by Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android devices, and Research In Motion’s BlackBerry. Recent efforts by the company to turn things around in mobile have proved disastrous–witness the summer demise, after less than two months in the market, of the company’s youth-oriented Kin handsets.

Now comes the Windows Phone 7 devices the company has been talking up for months. In an interview Monday, Ballmer told the Wall Street Journal, “we’ve got to move forward, not shoot for yesterday. We’ve got to shoot ahead in a way that’s delightful to users, accessible to developers and prioritize everything else we do around those elements.”

But the competition is brutal and getting more so. Microsoft has to persuade developers to play along and consumers that Windows Phone 7 phones are worthy of their consideration. Neither task will be easy.

The Windows Phone 7 phones certainly represent a major departure from the way Microsoft used to do business in mobile. The interface on demonstration phones features colorful and dynamic tiles built around activities and software. The design resembles Microsoft Zune music players more than Windows on a PC.

Readers: Do you plan on giving Windows Phone 7 a chance?�

By Ed Baig, USA Today

Remember to contact Orange County Computer  for all of your technology needs.

Windows 7: Change Can Be Good

So you’re a dedicated Vista user. Or perhaps an unyielding XP aficionado. Nothing is going to pull you away from you’re beloved PC operating system. Your brand loyalty is unshakable. Now this may come as a complete surprise to you, but there’s a new kid on the block that may convince you to alter your thinking and leap headlong into an entirely new OS. The newcomer we’re talking about is Windows 7. Now don’t start turning up your noses just yet. Have a look. See what you think. There are some definite advantages to upgrading your PC operating system to Microsoft’s latest version of Windows. Here are a few.

Take the User Account Control. With Vista, UAC messages seem to pop up non-stop with the warning – ‘are you sure you want to do that?’ How many times have you wanted to shout out, “well nobody’s forcing me to do it!” With Windows 7, you still get User Account Control, but it’s a lot less intrusive than its annoying predecessor.

How much clutter can one user stand? That’s the question that Vista seemed to be asking by including so many extra applications like Contacts, Calendar, Photo Editing, etc. Luckily, Windows 7 has eliminated a bunch of these extra programs. If you’ve really got to have them, they’re yours for the asking. Just download them absolutely free from the Windows Live website.

Let’s face it. Vista never broke any records for boot times. Many users report Vista taking a sluggish 30 seconds or more to boot. The goal for Windows 7 is a peppy 15 seconds. Whether most users get this kind of start-up speed has not been determined. Nevertheless, most folks enthusiastically proclaim that W7 is light years ahead of Vista in the speed department.

So there you have it. Just a few of the many reasons why upgrading your PC operating system to Windows 7 could be a good idea. If you’d like to learn more about the advantages of Windows 7 or are interested in installing it on your system, we’ll be happy to help. We also offer Comprehensive Computer Repair Services and Small Business Managment throughout Mission Viejo and all of Orange County.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at 949-699-6619 or� Contact Us

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Windows 2000 came into being in February of 2000 and set the stage for later more advanced versions of Windows to come. Windows 2000 series brought us automatic online updating, USB support, and FAT32 support from the consumer OS version of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Server introduced us to Active Directory which simplified network administration.

Within a few short years, Windows 2000 Professional was replaced by Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Server was replaced by the 2003 server edition. And while the 2000 series was off of the current product list, Microsoft has continued to support all four versions of its Windows 2000 series with service packs, critical updates and technical support for the last ten years.

While still in use today, Windows 2000s’ life cycle will be coming to a complete end on July 13, 2010 according to Microsoft. The end of extended support means that clients that are still running a Windows 2000 Server will need to migrate to a Windows 2008 Server in order to continue receiving support from Microsoft and to ensure the latest and best security for their network.

While Windows 2000’s security is fairly light by today’s standards, having no more security updating at all can mean serious problems for client’s who continue to use the OS without migrating to an updated and well supported version from Microsoft. The older architecture of Windows 2000 has been seriously compromised in the past by hackers and sophisticated viruses. In fact, as recently as September 8, 2009, Microsoft skipped over patching Windows 2000 Server for five rather serious security flaws stating that it would be “infeasible” due to the age of the OS and that to even try to patch them would require a re-engineering to a degree that could lead to incompatibilities with current applications that run on it.

So with the Windows 2000 series on life support and Microsoft reaching for the plug, it’s best to finally give the venerable operating system the boot and look at migrating to an updated version before too much longer. Sure, it may be cheaper to beat a dead horse by continuing to run a Windows 2000 Server or workstation. However, in the long run the eventual down-time and potential security breaches from online attacks could lead to serious problems such as data theft or loss which could easily override the cost of a simple upgrade.

The professionals at Orange County Computer are skilled at these kinds of upgrades and can make upgrading your server a painless procedure.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or� Contact Us

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Windows 7 Home Premium OS: Are you ready for the change?
The long awaited solution to Vista Home Premium is due for release on October 22nd. Many of you might be asking, “what’s the big deal and why should I care?” Below you will find many reasons supporting why the launch of Windows 7 could potentially make your computing experience much more enjoyable, especially if you are currently using the Vista Operating System. Windows 7 has been designed to resolve intrinsic issues associated with Vista yet compete with the new MAC OS due for release, Snow Leopard. Microsoft hopes to retain frustrated Vista users before they abandon ship by resolving some Vista Issues. So what exactly does Windows 7 do?

Windows 7 Simplifies Everyday Tasks:
A feature called HomeGroup, makes it’s simple to share music, documents, printers, and everything else with the other PCs running Windows 7 in a residential environment. Windows Search eliminates the chore of hunting through folders and subfolders to locate your stuff. The windows taskbar previews give you a great view of what’s open, and Jump Lists show your recent files with a single right-click.

Windows 7 Works the way you want:
It doesn’t matter how many neat tricks your PC can do if it’s not running as smoothly as you expect. So we designed Windows 7 to help your PC sleep and resume faster. Windows 7 supports the latest advances in PC hardware, like 64-bit computing and multi-core processors. Windows 7 was developed to utilize memory more efficiently which helps your hardware reach its full performance potential. This is probably where consumers will see the biggest difference in comparison to Vista.

Windows 7 Makes new things possible
Once you have that simplified, faster PC, some cool new features would be great. Like this one: You’ll be able to connect to networks—home, work, coffee shop—with a couple of clicks, and with Windows Touch (and the right hardware), you’ll soon be using your fingers to flip through files, work with pictures, and even “paint.”

Can my PC run Windows 7?
Generally, if your PC can run Windows Vista, it can run Windows 7. But if you’re not running Windows Vista, or are just not sure if your system is ready to run Windows 7, contact the experts at Orange County Computer and we’ll verify if your system is compatible. We can be reached at (949) 699-6619 or email support@orangecountycomputer.com. Look for further discussion and diagnosis of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate in the weeks ahead.

Contact our Sales Team for a computer evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or� Contact Us

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Let Orange County Computer get your system up and running again by providing local, around the clocks services, to serve your IT needs.

Newport Beach is home to Orange County Computer, Inc. and has proudly supported the Newport Beach community and local business for 13 years.

Small and medium business networks are our specialty, and Newport Beach is a fantastic city that is also home to major businesses and amenities such as:

• Balboa Island
• Fashion Island
• Newport Pier
• Pristine Newport Beach Coastline
• Hoag Hospital

And many more!

In the small and medium business world, you need help on the fly, and Orange County Computer is conveniently located off of Bake and Trabuco, near you to resolve your needs, and get your company back to work in no time.

Newport Beach Residents come to us for all of their computer needs that include but are not limited to:

• Desktop repair
• Laptop Repair
• OS Installs
• DC Jack Repair
• LCD Repair
• Virus Removal and Prevention Solutions
• In House Data Recovery
• Onsite Repairs
• Emergency Response Support
• Remote/Phone Support

Leave your IT problems to us at Orange County Computer, and we will offer you the best solution for Software Management and Support, Efficiency Solutions, Mobile Optimization, and more.

Call us now for a FREE Network evaluation @ 949-699-6619 and schedule an appointment with us today.

To find out more about Orange County Computer’s services visit our website or contact our Tech Repair Center at (949) 699-6619. Orange County Computer provides both on-site computer repair as well as a convenient computer repair center for your system to be worked on by our friendly and competent technicians. For more information visit our website athttp://www.orangecountycomputer.com/

Contact our Sales Team for your all of your computer service needs at (949) 699-6619 or� Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.