How to use Malwarebytes – Video Tip

I am installing Malwarebytes more and more often these days to take care of spyware and adware problems. It isn’t 100% effective and you really should practice preventative measures (see article links at the end of this tip), but it is certainly worthwhile to add it to your security tool belt if you use any version of Microsoft Windows. Click here to download Malwarebytes Click the green button to start download Wait...

Save Money on Computer Repair Bills

It’s no secret that I am a computer consultant/trainer/troubleshooter. So, why would I potentially take food out of my own hand by writing this tip? Three reasons: I like to help people and share knowledge I dislike troubleshooting messes that could have prevented and I enjoy teaching people how to get the most out of their computers instead of being frustrated and constantly battling or worrying about the...

Extricating Spyware

Article updated: July 2010 In 2004, spyware/adware became the #1 threat to personal computers. For a definition of spyware, visit Webopedia. Getting rid of spyware has reached a point that it takes an expert, or a lot of persistence, to really get rid of it totally. Following is a list of steps that we frequently take to completely restore a compromised computer. Depending on the level of problems, we may omit some steps,...

The Castellini Approach to Internet Security

This past week I saw way too many people who are not taking advantage of the free information we give out on the show and the web site. Their computers were suffocating from a preventable disease…viruses and spyware. Yes, preventable, almost 100%. And fighting the war on our home computer security front does not have to be costly or time consuming. We talk about this subject quite a bit on the program and the web site...

What kind of computer do 3 teenagers use?

An extremely slow and sick computer! Today, again, I ran across a family who has multiple teenagers (3 in this case) who use a computer that has become polluted with spy and adware. I see this situation again and again, week after week. This computer was less than 2 months old! Give the typical teenager a Windows based computer (doesn’t matter if it is XP or Vista) and within weeks (sometimes hours) the computer is...

Slow computer? Viruses? Malware? I can help!

After almost 13 years of battling security problems on Windows machines, I’m finally seeing the light of day and recommending Mac’s and Linux for many computer users. It will be a long journey convincing people that there is life beyond Microsoft. For those who bang away with Microsoft Windows computers,and have problems with Slow Computer Disease (SCD), pop-ups, viruses and other problems, I present the following...

The Top 10 Free Porn and Poker Web Sites

Let’s all face it. We don’t have to agree with it or even like it, but the porn and gaming (poker) industry push the boundaries of the Internet and sometimes that translates to a better Internet experience for all of us. From experience with my business, I can tell you that computer users who frequent free online gambling sites, porn sites, and free music downloading sites have the worst running computers....

Why would I pay 99 cents for a song?

That is a direct quote from a Freshman in college that I helped with her computer today. She purchased it just three days ago and already has Lime Wire installed. For those not familiar with Lime Wire, it is a service that many people use (especially college aged kids) to download free music, movies and more. In addition to be legally questionable (or downright illegal by some accounts), downloading free music is the single...

Porn doesn’t just happen

OK, I'm letting the cat out of the bag: web based porn is NOT magic. I always smile inside when I here people tell me that porn ads or images suddenly appeared on their computer. In more than 12 years of browsing and researching on the web (and I have put in a few hours), I can tell you that porn has never suddenly appeared out of thin air. I can also honestly say that I have never 'run into' porn by searching the...

Firewalls Redux

Firewalls became a hot topic in the latter part of this week at HMR (a web site visitor abbreviated our name that way and it works pretty well). I decided to bring up this tip and updated it for 2006. As recently as 2003, I recommended against dial-up users using firewalls. My reasoning for this advice included the substantially decreased time most dial-up users spend online in one stretch, ISP's provide firewall...

Shareware and Freeware – March 2006

We haven’t covered this topic since 1999! Shareware is software that you can “try before you buy”. The developer usually provides the program for free of charge with either some features disabled or a time limit on how long the product can be used. To unlock all the features or use the program past its expiration date, you must pay for a registration number. This type of marketing works quite well for...

Our Top Internet Information Sites 2005

We started publishing this list about three years ago. I fully admit that I am an information junkie and enjoy finding the answers to questions as soon as they come up. I tend to use a core group of sites to find my information. In this list you will see some perennial favorites and some new ones that I started using over the past year. In no particular order, my favorite information gathering web sites...

Fight Spy and Adware

Fight Spy and Adware In the last twelve months, a new menace has invaded our computers via the Internet. Different than a virus, but equally as irritating, we need to be watching out for and fighting against spy and adware. Spy and adware are little programs that install themselves on our computers and use up a great deal of our memory and processing power. Sometimes they are installed by us using some flaky software...