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Spyware, Malware, Viruses – Zapping your productivity!

Clean your computer of spyware, adware and moreIf you’re a company that uses a computer on a regularly with a high-speed connection chances are you may have already run into some sort of virus, spyware, adware or malware. An IDC study showed that over 67% of home PCs had some sort of infection and that percentage rises with every year! Don’t let spyware, adware, malware or viruses zap your business’ productivity! New Web Experts recommend using Malwarebytes Antimalware and Spybot: Search & Destroy which can be downloaded for free from CNET Download.com.

These programs are free to use and are essential tools to keeping your computer clean and free of malicious spyware. If you need help with protecting your office or personal computers from spyware, adware, malware and virus attacks be sure to contact the New Web Experts.

Toolbars: Where do they come from?

A few of the areas of expertise New Web Experts focuses on are computer consulting, computer security, and computer repair. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff has had many years of experience and training. We’ve seen many common issues plaguing home computers and some of the worst offenders we’ve found have been toolbars.

Too many Toolbars

Some of the many fields of expertise New Web Experts focuses on is computer consulting, computer security and computer repair. Our knowledgeable and friendly staff has had many years of experience and training. We’ve seen many common issues plaguing home computers and some of the worst offenders we’ve found have been toolbars.

Nearly everyone who browses the internet on a regular basis has probably run into a toolbar or two. You may be running one right now and may have never noticed it before! That’s because toolbars integrate themselves on your most favorite browsers such as: Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, by adding extra features and buttons to the top of your browser making it seem as if it’s a part of your browser. They are often snuck in with other programs or updates, and if you are not careful, you will install a toolbar without knowing until it's too late. While some of these toolbars can offer some useful features, overall toolbars are to be avoided and should be removed as soon as possible. Here are some reasons why you should avoid toolbars and - if they get on your system – should remove them.

  1. Tool bars slow down your internet browser. It’s proven that toolbars take up extra resources and bandwidth when you surf the net. Wondering why it takes so long to load your favorite websites? It may not be the website or your connection, but toolbars that are eating up your internet speed.

  2. Toolbars can be exploited and even hacked. Because they need internet access to operate, toolbars can easily be infiltrated by spyware and hackers as a backdoor into your system, circumventing any of your antivirus or firewall programs because the toolbar was getting internet access.

  3. Many toolbars are actually spyware. Toolbars such as Freeze, CouponBar, MySearchBar, and more, are actually considered spyware and will need to be removed with a spyware scanning tool in order to be removed completely. These toolbars not only start to eat up your internet resources, but they also proceed to track your website browsing and may even launch pop-ups, redirect your search results or hijack your browser!

Unselect Toolbar Installation Options

So in general, just say no to toolbars. If you need help removing toolbars from your computer or suspect spyware infection on your computer please contact the most knowledgeable and trusted computer consultants in the Palm Springs, Southern California area –the New Web Experts.

 

Optimizing your PC: Simple tips

The New Web Experts have been computer consulting collectively for decades in the Palm Springs area, Riverside and San Bernadino counties of Southern California. There have been many advances in computers and as a result many setbacks when it comes to user experience. The most common complaint we hear in the field is how slow a computer has gotten. There may be nothing wrong with the machine's hardware, but over the course of everyday use a typical PC will get bogged down with temp files, trial software, useless programs and even spyware or viruses. All these things may contribute to a slower computer. Here are some simple tips to optimizing your PC and improving your computer productivity.

Slow Computers

  1. Remove useless programs and proprietary software. Most computers now come with proprietary software, free trials and other useless programs pre-installed. These can often end up being a nuisance and may slow down your computer. What you need to do is if you know you won’t be using a certain program you will need to remove it from your computer via the Control Panel and uninstall through Programs and Features (or Add Remove Programs in Windows XP). Apple users have an easier time since they can delete most programs by dragging them into the trash.

  2. Clean your cache. Your computer and most programs generate temporary files that are used for updates, program installs or are used for archiving. These files do not need to stay on your computer and bog down performance. Use a program such as CCLeaner to clean out temporary files from your computer. A word of caution, however, when it comes to the internet browser cache. If you save your passwords in your cache be sure not to erase them otherwise you will need to reenter and resave all your online website passwords.

  3. Turn down or turn off certain visual settings. The latest versions of Windows are notorious for utilizing advanced visual effects that can often take up processing power on your computer. These settings do not affect how your computer operates, just merely how it looks and if certain windows have transparency or fade effects. We turn these off through the Control Panel and under the Performance Information and Tools features.

These are just a few simple tips to help your computer’s performance. Remember you should never follow one of these tips unless you are sure of what you are doing. Otherwise you may end up hurting your computer by accident. If you ever need help please call the New Web Experts for a computer consulting appointment if you live in the Palm Springs, Riverside, San Bernadino or other area of Southern California. We can also conduct limited remote computer support as well, and you can find more information on that by clicking here.

 

Website SEO: Blackhat, Greyhat and Whitehat

The realm of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is vast often cluttered in a sea of terminology that can overtake people looking to improve their search engine ranking. Anyone interested in their search engine ranking and legitimately climbing search engines should be aware that there are less than scrupulous methods out there employed by some website companies. These questionable SEO techniques may indeed boost your ranking. However, these results are often temporary, and they often tread into the dark waters of being classified as Grey and Blackhat SEO techniques. These techniques are frowned upon by search engines and may even get your website completely barred from any search engine recognition!

White Hat SEOGrey Hat SEOBlack SEO Hat

Some SEO techniques to avoid that can be considered Blackhat or Grey are posting false or misleading reviews for your website or services; frivolously adding keywords into your content by “keyword stuffing” sacrificing reading comprehension; duplicate content/websites; intrusive redirects and hidden text/content. These are some of the most common Blackhat and Greyhat search engine tactics and should be avoided. In fact, if you can prove your competitor is using Blackhat or Greyhat tactics you can legitimately report them as spam to the major search engines. Here are links where you can file a legitimate complaint:

Google - http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html

Yahoo - http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/ysearch/cgi_reportsearchspam

MSN - http://feedback.live.com/

New Web Experts only utilizes Whitehat Search Engine Optimization tactics and will never, ever use any Greyhat or Blackhat tactics. We aim to generate results legitimately and organically by providing personal consultation and applying or vast experience to helping our clients climb search engines. For more information or consultation on legitimate SEO results, please feel free to contact us.

Wide variety of services for Aqua Sun Ozone

aso1New Web Experts specializes in a variety of services and specialties within emarketing. For Aqua Sun Ozone they have taken advantage of nearly all the services New Web Experts has to offer. Looking to upgrade their entire emarketing presence, Aqua Sun Ozone hired the New Web Experts to give them the full featured package. New Web Experts developed a professional and exciting new website to better house and display their various products. All products received professional photography services via New Web Experts team. A special Flash interactive multimedia piece was commissioned for the new website as well, showcasing product usage within a typical home. All of these services were provided at an affordable price to fit within Aqua Sun Ozone's budget and the results have been nothing short of superb. Feel free to view the New Web Expert's Portfolio page for more information.