FACEBOOK & YOUR INFORMATION

Nothing is free. Facebook is the free to you because you are the product being sold, more specifically your personal information.

Users' willingness to share information is a key part of Facebook's business. The site makes the bulk of its money from ads that target users based on your personal information. In 2011 the company earned a profit of $668 million and booked $3.7 billion of revenue.

It simply takes a few minutes to create a Facebook account. Only a few seconds to comment on any page or profile. Only a few clicks to post some pictures. So easy. What some people don’t realize however, is that once a comment, a picture or a link is posted, it could take a life of its own and would be very hard to remove.

Of course, Facebook allows the user to remove whatever they post on their own account, but particularly intriguing, scandalous or offensive material can be captured forever by the wrong people. Others can simply open your profile, press the print screen button and paste the picture on a different account. From then on, you have no control over where that information goes.

So what should and should not be posted? Here are a few examples:

1) Comments offensive to a group of people or an individual. One local example was what the news called the “Devil On Detroit Street” who chose to make fun of a neighbors daughter. This turned into a legal battle and the lady who posted the offensive material has since had many personal threats.

2) Pictures harmful to National Security or Reputation . A picture paints a thousand words, so they say. This is especially if you or a family member works in a sensitive position in the government. If say your dad is working for an intelligence agency, you don’t want to post online where and with whom you spent your holidays. And how many times do you hear of young war veterans landing in trouble for pictures during their tour that found its way to the world wide web?

3) Sexually suggestive photos. We all like to go out and cut loose with our friends but with we have to be aware that most every one has a smart phone with facebook loaded and you are just a post away from being really popular on faceoobk. Use the “Grandma Rule” if you would not want your grandma to see it, don't post it. You should also have your privacy settings so that you have to approve all photos that you are tagged in so you have better control over what shows up on your page.

4)Work- related matters. Comments that you thought random could inform competitors within and outside your company about the things that you have been up to lately. I even suggest not including your boss or subordinates in your ‘friends’ list. You might post that you have a new job interview and if your current boss didn't know about, they can now.

5) Dirty Laundry. Family issues should be kept within family circles. Nobody should be interested about why you got angry with your parent or your sibling. And those who do seem to be interested, they are only after the gossip. So its better to keep things to yourself. Family issues are usually solved long before those gossips and bad rep go away.

These are just a few examples. There are no hard and fast rules. However, before you press that ‘post’ button, think a few seconds more.

The Life And Times Of Steve Jobs

Googles Top Money Key Words

What’s the Difference Between Viruses, Trojans, Worms, and Other Malware?

Virus Removal Information: What’s the Difference Between Viruses, Trojans, Worms, and Other Malware?

At Lawrence Systems / PC Pickup we are experts at removing viruses, malware,worms and trojans from your computer. But we are often asked what is a virus,malware or trojan so here's a helpful guide to understanding all the different types of malware.

What is Malware?

The word Malware is short for malicious software, and is a general term used to describe all of the viruses, worms, spyware, and pretty much anything that is specifically designed to cause harm to your PC or steal your information.

Viruses Wreak Havoc On Your Files

The term computer virus is often used interchangeably with malware, though the two don't actually have the same meaning. In the strictest sense, a virus is a program that copies itself and infects a PC, spreading from one file to another, and then from one PC to another when the files are copied or shared.

Most viruses attach themselves to executable files, but some can target a master boot record, autorun scripts, MS Office macros, or even in some cases, arbitrary files. Many of these viruses, like CIH, are designed to render your PC completely inoperable, while others simply delete or corrupt your files—the general point is that a virus is designed to cause havoc and break stuff.

You can protect yourself from viruses by making certain your antivirus application is always updated with the latest definitions and avoiding suspicious looking files coming through email or otherwise. Pay special attention to the filename—if the file is supposed to be an mp3, and the name ends in .mp3.exe, you're dealing with a virus.

Spyware Steals Your Information

Spyware is any software installed on your PC that collects your information without your knowledge, and sends that information back to the creator so they can use your personal information in some nefarious way. This could include keylogging to learn your passwords, watching your searching habits, changing out your browser home and search pages, adding obnoxious browser toolbars, or just stealing your passwords and credit card numbers.

Since spyware is primarily meant to make money at your expense, it doesn't usually kill your PC—in fact, many people have spyware running without even realizing it, but generally those that have one spyware application installed also have a dozen more. Once you've got that many pieces of software spying on you, your PC is going to become slow.

What many people don't realize about spyware is that not every antivirus software is designed to catch spyware. You should check with the vendor to make sure the application you are using to protect you from malware is actually checking for spyware as well. If you come across a PC that is already heavily infected, MalwareBytes & "SpyBot Search and Destroy" is a good program that can clean it thoroughly.

Scareware Holds Your PC for Ransom

Scareware is a relatively new type of attack, where a user is tricked into downloading what appears to be an antivirus application, which then proceeds to tell you that your PC is infected with hundreds of viruses, and can only be cleaned if you pay for a full license. Of course, these scareware applications are nothing more than malware that hold your PC hostage until you pay the ransom—in most cases, you can't uninstall them or even use the PC.

If you manage to come across a PC infected with one of these, your best bet is to Google the name of the virus and find specific instructions on how to remove it, but the steps are usually the same—run a combination of , MalwareBytes & "SpyBot Search and Destroy" to help remove it.

Trojan Horses Install a Backdoor

Trojan horses are application that look like they are doing something innocuous, but secretly have malicious code that does something else. In many cases, trojans will create a backdoor that allows your PC to be remotely controlled, either directly or as part of a botnet—a network of computers also infected with a trojan or other malicious software. The major difference between a virus and a trojan is that trojans don't replicate themselves—they must be installed by an unwitting user.

Once your PC has been infected with the trojan, it can be used for any number of nefarious purposes, like a denial of service (DoS) attack against a web site, a proxy server for concealing attacks, or even worse—for sending out buckets of spam. Protection against trojans works the same way as viruses—make sure that your antivirus application is up to date, don't open suspicious attachments, and think long and hard before you try and use a downloaded crack for any comercial program—that's one of malware authors' favorite spots to hide a trojan.

Worms Infect Through the Network

Computer worms use the network to send copies of themselves to other PCs, usually utilizing a security hole to travel from one host to the next, often automatically without user intervention. Because they can spread so rapidly across a network, infecting every PC in their path, they tend to be the most well-known type of malware, although many users still mistakenly refer to them as viruses.

Some of the most famous worms include the ILOVEYOU worm, transmitted as an email attachment, which cost businesses upwards of 5.5 billion dollars in damage. The Code Red worm defaced 359,000 web sites, SQL Slammer slowed down the entire internet for a brief period of time, and the Blaster worm would force your PC to reboot repeatedly.

Because worms often exploit a network vulnerability, they are the one type of malware that can be partially prevented by making sure your firewall is enabled and locked down—you'll still need an updated antivirus software, of course.

Confused? Still have questions or need our help removing a virus?

Give us a call and we can get your computer back up and running!

Cleaning up your system with CCleaner

Have you wanted a program that can clean up your system easily. Well that program is called CCleaner and can be found here on our web site. This small program does a very good job at cleaning up all of the temp files and all of the information left in your web browsers.

First when you open up CCleaner your main window should look like the one below and should be on the Cleaner tab. Depending on your preferences you can check whichever options that you would like to use. You then have two choices you can either just push Run Cleaner or you can hit Analyze. Is doesn't really matter which one you use but I personally like to use the Analyze first because then you can see how much space that is going to be freed up on you hard drive. Then after it is done analyzing I will then click on the Run Cleaner button.

Main CCleaner window

After Analyze

After Cleaning is completed

Facebook Facts you probably didn't know!

What you probably didnt know about Nintendo