Problem: My computer detected and blocked a Trojan virus that the AVG program (paid version) had found, however, was unable to isolate. (After all was said and done, there were several virus problems, plus a couple of rootkit issues found in my computer. In all honesty, hadn’t heard of ‘rootkit’ before – but now know it can really cause problems. Read more about rootkits here)

Solution: I called the AVG people and was given a list of steps to follow to fix the problem. However, I couldn’t get past the first step – my computer went crazy…. blinking screens that I couldn’t stop.

Called AVG back and went through the first on-line fix with a tech – the kind of interaction where they take control of your computer. Rather than give you all the details of the three separate fixes over the course of 24 hours, they not only used the AVG virus program but also several different spyware and malware programs (links below) . In addition, they gave me some solid tips on keeping my computer safe. They were. . .

1.  Virus programs should be checked for updates daily and if an update(s) is found; it should be installed.
2.  Updates to virus programs should be done before you run any scans
3.  Only one (1) virus program per computer; having more than one virus program causes confusion and can leave your computer at risk.
4.  If you have AVG, use the AVG toolbar for searching as it provides safe sites.
5. Password protect your computer – even if you are the only one who uses it
6.  Run free malware or spyware programs if you think you have a problem

The list below contains the programs the AVG techs used on my computer. If the program was not free, they downloaded the trial paid version and used that. The list of spyware, malware and other programs is for informational purposes only. We are not recommending you use any one of them but rather read to see what each one offers. If your computer is in need of repair or has a virus problem, we recommend contacting a trained professional.

One other thought, at one point during this whole ordeal, my computer black screened.  While talking with the AVG tech on the phone and following his directions, he was able to get my computer back. However, I had to use my original OS Reinstallation disk that came with my computer to get things working again. Fortunately, that disk was in a place where I could find it. Now for the list.

Spyware, malware, and other programs used to repair my computer :

ASWMBR -  Rootkit Scanner

ATF-Cleaner – Free Temporary File Cleaner

HitmanPro35 – Virus scan to use when other programs show no virus

LSPFix – Repair broken winsocks

mbam -  Anti malware program

TDSSKiller – Anti adware program

REVOSETUP – Program uninstaller program

RootRepeal – Rootkit detector

SuperANTISpywarePro - Anti-spyware program

TRJsetup682 -Trojan remover

LavaSoft – Antivirus software

I was told that new viruses come in daily and a good maintenance regime should be followed to keep your computer safe. I now check daily for AVG updates.

And if that isn’t enough, to top it all off, here are some scary stats for those who don’t backup their files:

• All hard drives will crash during their lifetime
• More than 1 in 10 laptops will be stolen in their lifetime
• A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds
• Every year 46% of computer users lose their music, photos, and documents
• 50% of all hard drives will crash within 5 years
• 89.1% of PC users don’t perform regular backups
• A recent study from Gartner, Inc., found that 90 percent of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years.
• 70 percent of companies go out of business after a major data loss

We recently had a computer go down (bad motherboard), so instead of putting money into a 4+ year old computer, thought it better to apply that money towards a new computer. Since our problem wasn’t disk related, we opted to remove the old C Drive and install in an external hard case. While we can’t use the programs stored there, we can open any of the document, image, etc. files that we might need.

This is a pretty simple process that almost anyone can do.  The information below will help you determine which external drive to buy to encase the old C drive.

1.   Measure width and height of the C drive once you have removed it from the original computer tower. You should also know the maximum capacity of the disk.

2.   Determine type of drive you have. This refers to the type of power used when starting up (spin-up). I found the type of C drive I had by actually using the information off the drive after I removed it from the tower and then searching online. The search results gave me the name/type for that drive so I could proceed with purchasing the correct case. There are two typical drives you will most likely encounter.

SATA II (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) – supports staggered spin-up allowing the computer to spin up the drives in sequence top reduce load on the power supply when booting.

PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) (and some SATA) – support power-up in standby. Each drive does not spin up until the controller (system BIOS) issues a specific command to do so… allowing the system to be set up to stagger disk start-up and limit maximum power demand at switch-on.

 3.   Go online, i.e, Amazon and search for the type of drive you need based on the size and type. (Check to make sure it comes with a USB cable and make note of what type of power it uses.) Most of these external cases will fit the C drives that come with the newer computers.  However, if you have an older computer, you may need to do some more research with regard to case size and drive type. (see link below for more information.)

4.  Once you have the external drive case in hand, follow the instructions that come with the unit. In my case, I only had to remove two screws, place my old C drive inside, and replace the cover and screws.

After doing this, I simply plugged the unit into my new computer’s USB port where I could view all the files on my old C Drive and use them – all for under $15.00.

If you want to read more about hard disk drives, visit http://wn.wikipedia.org/widi/Hard_disk_drive

Email Address

Consider getting a ‘generic’ email address for your main email, i.e., Google, Yahoo, etc. . You can always forward any of the domain email accounts to this catch-all address. And, if you ever change your ISP (Internet Service Provider) – should you have your email associated with them – you’ll not have the time consuming task of updating all those profiles associated with each different account. (Been there – done this one)

Passwords

Seems just about everything requires a password these days and the Roboform program makes having multiple unique passwords easy. However, in spite of the fact that you can print out your password list (and User Name) for reference – IF you have used memory-friendly names for convenience, i.e.,

http://www.somedomain.com/log-in/B_AwQ123_llmxyz_345.php is named Bank

What happens if you need the actual URL address? In this case, you may want to consider keeping a separate file with the link address to the password-protected account so that you have the actual link associated with the ‘memory-friendly’ name and password. Print this document out and put in a safe place. (Be sure to keep it current.) In the event your computer should crash, you’ll have the actual link address needed to access the page or account – as well as the password. (Click on the car to for a trial download.)

Business Cards

We like having a business card to hand out and find printing our own is not only easy but also saves us quite a bit of money. You probably know you can buy blank business cards from Avery in a variety of styles and colors with the necessary software downloadable on line. In addition, there are really some good business card programs available that let you design your own card based on the Avery template numbers. Once we’ve finished our card, we find that using the Avery template number in the saved file’s name lets us know which Avery blank template to put in the printer when printing the card. This is particularly helpful if you are using more than one Avery template.

Graphics

We do a lot of image work – especially for our store products where we want the edges clean – no shadows, white background. To accomplish this – once we’ve gone through the sizing, enhancing process – we use either the eraser or the paint brush to finish the edges like we want them. However, being right handed, we sometimes find that working with the left side of the image a bit more difficult – even awkward. To make finishing the left side easier, we use the mirror function in the graphics program to reverse the image. Once the ‘clean-up on the left side’ if finished – we use the mirror function to reverse the image once more – and the image is now back to the original . (This works just as well if you’re left-handed!)

Files

Working with multiple domains means there are a lot of information that is updated on a schedule. With many articles being related to the same topic, it is easy to mistakenly give them the same name. To avoid the risk of using the same name again, we use a date on the end of the file name.

Example:

Original file document: www.yourdomain.com/dailynews.html

would become

Follow-up file documents: www.yourdomain.com/dailynews_datehere.html

In the name,  ’datehere‘ could be …. year, ….month and year, ….or date, month and year – depending on the frequency of adding new information to the website.

Not only does this keep our file names unique but also makes it much easier to find a particular dated article if we’re looking for it.

Hope you find these helpful – D&J

The following steps would primarily be used to close down a single domain website (business).   Again, if you are using some of the services for other businesses, you would want to leave those accounts open and active.

1. Domain Registration – Check the domain account settings with the registrar to be sure it is not scheduled to ‘auto renew’. You do not want to pay for a domain you don’t want – unless you plan on using that same name again at a future time. In that case, you may want to leave it on ‘auto-renew’ or put it on ‘manual’. Having a domain registration on ‘manual’ gives you the opportunity to make decisions based on  current situations.

2.   Hosting   If you have separate, stand-alone hosting for your website, you need to cancel this service …. ( only IF you do not have multiple domains hosted under the same IP address or account ). Before canceling , we recommend downloading and keeping a complete copy of the website for possible future need.

3. Online payment services, i.e, PayPal can also be closed – if they are a one use account. But before canceling, any monies in the account should be requested via check or bank transfer. If you have your own credit card service, you will also need to cancel that service as well – unless it is being used for other businesses.

4.  Bank Accounts –  The business bank account should be closed . . . again, unless you are using it for other on-going business ventures. And, if you are waiting on transfers from online payment services like PayPal or affiliate payments, the account should be left active until all receipts have been posted and all out going checks have cleared. If you must close the account immediately for some reason, the original payment method selected of ‘bank transfer’ should be changed to an alternate method, ie., check, debit card, etc.   Note:  Any credit or debit cards associated with the business account should also be terminated at the same time the bank account is closed.

5.  Miscellaneous Services – Any other on-going services associated with the website should also be terminated. This might be advertising, web design service/maintenance, SEO work, etc.  Note:   When closing an account, make sure there are no outstanding balances and request email or written confirmation that the account has been closed on the specified day with no monies due. This is good advice to follow for closing any account.

6. Email – If you have any business email addresses associated with the .com (info@yourdomain.com), you may want to advise clients, associates, etc. that the email address they have been using will no longer be active and provide an alternate generic email address (Google, Yahoo) to use should they need to contact you.

7.   Taxes – If you have your business registered with your state taxing authority, you will need to advise them that the business has been closed . Should you have more than one business associated with your tax number, in most cases, the state will still need to know if one of the business locations has been shut down.

8.  Files –  Reconcile all accounts associated with the business and then compile all tax records and have them ready for filing sales tax and income tax.  These files - and any other pertinent data associated with the business –  should  be stored in a labeled box for future reference should they be needed.

In all cases, check the ‘fine print’ with regard to canceling services to avoid any penalties or additional fees.

Surprisingly, closing a business can be more labor intensive than starting one up. The main thing to remember is to keep good, accurate records of your actions . . .  date, time, phone numbers, person you spoke to, copies of email confirmations, etc. as you go through the process.

These steps are intended to be a brief overview of what is associated with closing an online-only business. It is not intended to be exact, nor complete, as every business venture is different. However, we hope that it gives you some things to think about. When in doubt, any concerns or questions regarding the closure of a business should be discussed with your CPA or the proper authorities.