Recent Comments
Comment by Bob on Geekly Update - 29 May 2025 (May 30, 2025 04:19 AM)
Rise of the machine... when your toaster sacrifices itself for the better part of the whole, and burns down your house....
Comment by BillP on Geekly Update - 29 May 2025 (May 30, 2025 01:32 AM)
At the homeless shelter where i volunteer, there's a publicly accessible computer for people to check job listings, etc, that cannot upgrade to Win 10...
Comment by Richard on Geekly Update - 29 May 2025 (May 29, 2025 10:34 PM)
Hmmm... I want Perplexity to summarise that video for me ... but I don't know how yet....
Comment by Pete on Geekly Update - 29 May 2025 (May 29, 2025 09:12 PM)
super vision sounds great! The dog can't hide any more in the woods! Thanks!!!...
Comment by BDD on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 29, 2025 05:49 AM)
I bought a (cheap) wireless cannon printer the wireless option is the way to go. That said I kept getting error messages saying the printer door is op...
Comment by Tom W Van Dam on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 28, 2025 02:13 PM)
I purchased an Epson EcoTank printer for my home and then one for work. The work one gets more use but I haven't had to purchase new bottles of ink f...
Comment by Frederick Roller on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 28, 2025 11:51 AM)
Bought an Epson Ecotank all-in-one 5 years ago and never looked back.Best investment I ever made. As for the "printer potty" it was a very simple, che...
Comment by chris on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 28, 2025 08:41 AM)
A little off subject, but the last time I bought a HP printer I had to subscribe to their ink cartridge subscription before I could get the printer t...
Comment by Carol on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 28, 2025 04:53 AM)
We used to throw away our money on HP ink cartridges, periodically battling the dreaded dried up print heads because we aren't heavy printers. When it...
Comment by Minoo on Your Next Printer: Laser, Inkjet or All-In-One? (May 28, 2025 01:58 AM)
What is printer potty? You have given prices to print a page...e.g. 2.3 cents per page, does this price include the cost of paper also? Thank you....
Viruses Articles
Fileless Malware: Who You Gonna Call?
A clever but pernicious software technique that's been known for more than a decade is finding favor among today's malware authors, complicating the work of anti-virus developers and digital forensic analysts. Tracking down so-called “fileless malware” is to detection of regular malware what ghost-hunting is to catching a garden-variety burglar. Read on to learn about this resurgent threat and what you can do to stop it...
...Is This a Fake Virus Alert?
A concerned reader asks: “Bob, I'm worried that I might have a computer virus. My computer will sometimes stop and a warning says I have a virus, and I must call a number on the screen. Then supposedly they will walk me through the process to fix it. Is this true? I have antivirus installed but still, it pops up now and then.” Is this virus alert real or rogue? Here's my diagnosis...
...Can You Get a Virus By Opening an Email?
A concerned AskBob reader wants to know... “Is it possible to get a computer virus by simply opening an email?” It's true that email has been and remains one of the most popular attack vectors for hackers, spammers, scammers, phishers and other cyber-miscreants that are jiggling the latches on the door of your inbox. But is it really that easy to slip in, and wreak havoc on your computer? Let's find out...
...Malware and Spam: Why Do They Exist?
Philosophers have pondered the nature of evil for ages. Perhaps you also have wondered how a medium meant for information sharing has become a minefield of privacy and security risks. Spam, viruses, ransomware, identity theft, data breaches, phishing, malicious links and other cybercrimes have become commonplace. Who does this stuff, and what the heck is wrong with them? Let's take a look at what motivates the miscreants who menace millions on the Internet...
...Is Your Flash Drive Infected?
Security research firm Sophos found malware on two-thirds of fifty USB flash drives that had been lost aboard Australian trains. That might suggest that you should avoid computing on Australian trains, but the broader lesson is that USB flash drives are highly vulnerable to malware infections. Here's what you need to know, and how to protect your computer from viruses that may lurk on flash drives...
...Where Do Viruses And Spyware Come From?
Several thousand new viruses and spyware programs are detected every day by security analysts. Have you ever wondered who creates these plagues, and why?
...Virus Alert - XP Total Security 2011
Somehow I got a virus called XP Total Security, and I can't get rid of it. It blocks my security software, and it won't let me download any new anti-virus tools. It's even asking me for money... how do I get rid of this thing?
...Should You Call The Geek Squad?
My computer is running really slow, and I think it might have a virus. There's also a ticking sound inside the computer. I'm not very technical, so I'm thinking about calling the Geek Squad. Do you think that's a good idea?
...How Does a Virus Spread?
I love your site and your Tourbus Newsletter! I would like to know how a virus propagates over a network? If you get a virus on one computer - do other users on the network have to do anything to get infected? Is there a good way to protect against this?
...Free Virus Scan
My computer has been acting strangely... at times it's very slow and I'm getting lots of popups. I'm afraid I have a virus, and the anti-virus software that came with my computer has expired. Can you recommend a good (and preferably free) virus scanner?
...How can I avoid computer viruses?
When I wrote in a previous article that You CANNOT get a virus just by opening or reading your email I fully expected it would unleash a torrent of emails in response. I knew this would happen, because Ask Bob Rankin readers are generally smarter and better-looking than the rest of the online population. Read on for Virus Prevention 102 -- even more information on virus prevention and the merits of anti-virus software.
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