As an experienced field tech at A+ Mobile PC Doctors, I have a lot of experience surrounding the topic of virus removal (now more frequently referred to as malware: malicious software), especially in our Boston computer repair shop, in the field in eastern MA especially in the greater Boston area since that is where we have been headquartered since 2002 and doing remote desktop support to remove malware from both home and business level computer users.

Virus Removal

We get calls daily at our Boston computer repair shop regarding computer viruses from troubled individuals that want to know what they can do to remove the virus(es) and spyware, or better put, malware (malicious software) from their computer. Our initial reaction is always to ensure their immediate security, so we ask them questions like:

“Is your machine powered on and are you connected to the internet?”

–>We ask this to ensure that the virus is not transmitting their personal data back to its host (the hacker that wrote the malware application). If so, we ask them to at least disable their internet connection by unplugging their Ethernet cable from either their PC or the Router, and if, god forbid, they are still using dial-up, then disconnect the phone line from their PC. This precautionary action will terminate their connection to the internet and cease any possible communication between the virus/malware and their host.

“What are you running for security software? If yes, is it a free version or paid version, and is your license current?” (e.g. anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, etc. software such as AVG, Norton, Avast, Panda, McAfee, CA, etc.)

–> This helps us determine how badly their machine is infected. Let’s face it, none of these security software are infallible, but we try to put our best foot forward when protecting our networks, data and PC’s. If they tell us that they are not running any security software or it has expired, we know, right off the bat, that the machine is swimming with many viruses.

“Are you able to get online?”

–> This helps us determine whether or not a remote session would even be possible, or do we need to physically possess the computer to conduct a proper virus removal. It also helps us determine how badly the viruses have infiltrated the computer.

Computer Virus Removal

A PROPER virus removal….hmm…that brings me to the theme of this blog post. Every kid out there with a screw driver and a computer that thinks they know even a little about computer repair, is on the web advertising his or her services (mostly on Craigslist.com and Google/Yahoo & Bing Maps since it is free to advertise there) claiming that they are some kind of expert.

• They undercut the market since they do not have any company overhead such as insurance payments and in many cases personal and/or commercial rent/utilities, etc.
• They don’t have any technical certifications and/or very little field experience beyond their own PC’s
• Most of which are still in high school or just barely graduated (if they graduated at all), and even more have zero college or formal education, and definitely no technical training.
• They don’t carry any sort of insurance, so when they botch the job and lose all your data you as a consumer have zero recourse.
• Most importantly: They don’t truly understand Virus Removal and how to do it correctly!

Buyer's Beware

We as a company are constantly interviewing technicians and looking for the best of the best technicians. As such, we have a pretty steady flow of resumes coming in through our recruitment email. I personally review each and every one of these resumes - most of which get tossed out. Occasionally we do receive resumes that look promising and merit at least an initial investigatory phone call - which I myself place. When conducting these initial interview calls, we begin to drill down on the technical aspects of computer repair and networking as a start to begin to judge what the candidates’ true technical knowledge and experience are, and one of the first topics we discuss is virus removal.

10 times out of 10, the candidate will state that they really understand virus removal and it is no problem for them. Then, as the conversation continues, and we ask them to walk us through a typical virus removal process and we discover about 9.5 times out of 10 that the candidate really doesn’t get how to do a simple, or a complex (or thorough) virus removal. It is not as simple as most people think. Typically unless someone has been trained by a technician who really knows what they are doing, they themselves really don’t know the proper tools to use, or how to use them correctly (e.g. the anti-virus software that really work, how to effectively use a hard drive adapter kit so you don’t boot into windows but can read the drive and run virus scans, how to use Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking effectively to ensure success, etc.)

Even more importantly, most don’t get that we first and foremost have to be concerned with any sensitive data on the customer’s hard drive as a priority to recover, and then worry about the virus removal process. For most customers the data on their hard drive is a priority. As such, we always prioritize the data recovery and include questions surrounding this topic in our list of questions when we are “getting our arms around” the problem initially.

Lastly, most techs out there will only run one (or perhaps) two anti-virus applications on a computer, find some viruses, remove them, and then think they are all done - when in fact, they have only removed a minority of the malware on the hard drive and most likely still have some remnants of the malware, which are most likely to return in some fashion. These are the techs that will tell you they can do a virus removal in an hour or two. To truly do a thorough cleaning of a hard drive the proper way, you must run at least 4+ applications on your hard drive - which brings me back to the point that to do a proper virus removal takes anywhere from at least 3 hours, to as long as 24 hours depending on the depth of infection, how many files are on the hard drive and how powerful the machine is from a hardware standpoint.

We also recommend running a registry cleaner software such as RegCure to help optimize your PC’s performance and cut down on possible registry errors.

Feel free to call us to answer any questions you have - no obligation for free advice: 1-866-417-3945. It is our goal to help you achieve the peace of mind over your computer system, and the computer repair services company that assists you with your home or business IT infrastructure.

Technology to Relax...

When you have pushed your laptop computer to its limit and are looking into a possible upgrade, there are many options available. First, you can easily just purchase a new laptop based on price and call it a day - but there is a lot of research involved in choosing the right customizations, all of which could be considered as potential upgrades. If you are definitely in the market for a new laptop computer look into this guide on laptop computer purchasing value. If you are considering upgrades to enhance your current PC - read on.

A computers performance is capped by the lowest denominator - slowest part - that we call a bottleneck. The term refers to the rate at which a fluid will pour from a bottle being determined by the thinnest part it flows through - the bottleneck. Think of it like an hourglass.

Utilizing a Bottleneck to Tell Time

A common example of a bottleneck is in the memory - or RAM. Your computer may be fast enough to run any one of the programs you use, but it doesn’t have enough memory to run them all at once - so when you use your computer it seems slow but in reality processor speed isn’t what you need - its more memory.

Before you invest in a new computer or parts take your computer into a local Boston Laptop Repair store and have a technician explain where you have a bottleneck and whether or not it is worth upgrading or replacing your PC.

A vital step in Laptop Repair concerning Data Recovery, Migration or Maintenance is having a solution in place before a critical situation arises. At our Boston Computer Repair shop we have all the tools and experience to recover your important data from a failed hard drive or crashed system in most cases. However, for the inevitable times where a hard drive has catastrophically failed and Data Recovery is impossible it is vital to have a secure backup solution in place.

Your Data is Irreplaceable

There are many reliable data backup solutions on the market for Desktop and Laptop PC users, as well as more complex data maintenance systems for enterprise level customers using server racks or computer-farms.

I personally use and recommend an external hard drive of at least 1 Terabyte configured to automatically back up your entire system. It is important to make sure your Laptop Hard Drive is large enough to store all of your files without spilling over onto the external - as the essence of backup is to keep two complete and separate copies of everything in case one of the drives fails.

USB or Firewire External Hard Drive

For most users this one hardware and software solution will be everything you need to secure your data and prepare to migrate to a new system in the event of an upgrade or a crash. However, there are a number of other ways to back up your data in case you need to have it on-the-go or access it over the internet. In another post I will review flash-based storage, cloud-based storage and RAID backup solutions for businesses.

Have you ever tripped on your laptop power cable? Or dropped your laptop and now your laptop will not charge? Or possibly you now need to wiggle the AC Adapter cable where it plugs into the female port (the DC Power Jack) in the back or on the side of your laptop to get at least (or in some instances, at most) intermittent connection allowing electricity to flow to the PC?

Any way you cut it, this can be very frustrating and can cause you a major inconvenience especially if the laptop is dead and you need to access files that are on that computer which can sometimes lead to a more expensive data recovery computer laptop repair service once your battery runs out just to access your files until you can get the DC power jack repaired. The fact that your computer is not getting power  is most likely due to one of two or two of two things:

1. The actual power cable and/or the AC Adapter Cable -that plugs into your laptop is damaged and it needs to be replaced
2. Damage has been occurred to the DC power jack, which is what the male port on the end of the AC adapter cable plugs into. The DC power jack actually resides on the motherboard and allows electrical current to flow to the laptop.

AC Adapter w/ Power Cable

DC Power Jack Repair

Most computer repair shops do offer some laptop repair services, however, many of these computer repair shops do not offer the DC Power Jack Repair services in-house as it is a more complex repair requires a high level of expertise with laptops since the laptop needs to be disassembled to access the motherboard, ability to solder and not your every day run of the mill tech possesses these skills.

Our Boston computer repair shop is one of the few locations that does offer DC Power Jack Repair in eastern MA, and we do all the work in-house, not sent out to another company or location. We offer DC power jack repair services for Toshiba, Dell, HP, Sony Vaio, Lenovo. Thinkpad, Gateway, Acer, Asus, Mac and all Apple laptops in Boston MA. Also, depending on your computer make and model and our available stock we can preform a DC jack repair on the same day or for next day pickup.

Boston computer repair companies are a dime a dozen here in the technology mecca that is Boston. Think all computer repair companies are the same? Think again. That’s just like saying every auto repair shop offers the same quality service you can trust. That being said, here are a few reasons why A+ Mobile PC Doctors takes the cake when it comes to quality Boston computer repair services you can trust.

Onsite computer repair. WE come to YOU. Whether it’s your home or your office, we are a rare thing in the Boston computer repair market because we offer convenient onsite computer repair.

Remote computer repair. If it can be done without physically handling your computer, we will be glad to do it! Give us a call at 1-617-723-1986 to discuss the possibility of a convenient remote access computer repair service.

Insured technicians. All of our technicians are insured by The Hartford. From the moment your laptop or desktop computer leaves your sight, you can rest assured that it is in good hands.

We are a team. A+ Mobile PC Doctors is a team of certified, experienced computer repair technicians.   Wouldn’t you rather trust us than that guy that fixes computers out of his mother’s basement?

Location, location, location. Business often choose us to accomplish their business networking services because we operate in several different states across the US. So if your business operates within Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, or Wisconsin, give us a call at 1-617-723-1986 about your needs today!