We have seen a tremendous increase in the number of machines coming in for service that are completely infested. Many more machines than normal are losing all of their data. Most troubling, is the time delay between the arrival of the virus, and the machine being taken in for service.

Many of the machines have what we call an 'invited' virus. These viruses will pop up a message that either looks like a Windows™ system message, or a message from your antivirus software.

The most important thing to do is to to stop and think. If the message says that WinAntiVirus 2009 has detected a serious problem, ask yourself; do you have WinAntiVirus 2009? If not, why are you even reading the popup, its a spoof. This is how these viruses get in. They get your permission to enter. And remember, for safety, only close the popup with the x at the top right corner. Any button can allow the virus to enter.

Many of the newer viruses grow each time you reboot your computer, and the chances of cleaning them out diminish each time you restart. Don't expext to save much if you continue to use it for an extended period of time when infected!

Has your computer recently slowed to a crawl? Make sure you have not added some software that is causing the problem. You need 1 good antivirus, and 1 good antispyware program. If you try running multiple ones, your system will slow to a crawl asthey fight each other. There are a couple expensive security suites out there that are well known to slow your computer to a crawl, so do some research before you buy what you have 'heard' is the best.

Conficker Worm

April 1st threat info is in the forum

What are some of the new and interesting computer products out there now?

E-Sata or external sata offers many advantages over USB 2.0, in particular for external hard dirves. E-Sata is hot swapable, and transfers data at the same speed as an internal sata drive does. We are seeing e-sata interfaces on newer desktops and notebooks, and it can be easily added to your desktop unit.

Sata Hard drive docks are a great new item, which are available in USB 2.0 and e-sata interfaces. You just drop the connector end of you 2.5" or 3.5" sata drive into the dock, and your drive is available for use.

High Capacity Flash Memory drives ( thumbdrives ) are now commonly available at 32 and 64 gigabyte capacities. Before you buy, remember that some older computers can not address or see these devices. The same applies to high capacity memory cards, some card readers and cameras can not see them. Check before you buy!

USB 3.0 is coming. Look for data speeds to rival e-sata, and much more power. Currently very little power can be drawn from a usb port before the dreaded "Power Surge on USB Hub " error. The new standard will allow a significant level of current. Watch the forum for updates.