Comp-U-News from Comp-U-Talk
August 2004

Let us endeavor so to live that, when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry. ~Mark Twain

If your are considering upgrading or replacing your computer, here are some compelling reasons to do so. The following excerpt comes from: Gizmo, the author of http://techsupportalert.com/issues/al_current.htm

Of the dozen or so such machines I've looked at this year, every single one was infected with some sort of Spyware. Three were also infected with the Sasser worm and another two with custom key logging trojans.

Now, I admit these machines were no random sample - they were PCs that friends or relatives asked me to look at because they had problems. Some of the problems were caused by the malware.

That said, I still expect the results would be similar for most end uses' PCs. I expect most to be infected.

Old PCs running Windows 95 are effectively a lost cause. Most haven't even got the processing power needed to run the security products they need to defend themselves. Try running Norton Internet Security 2004 on a 166 MHz Pentium! Many older Windows 98 PCs are not much better.

But collectively, such machines account for almost half of all PCs in use!

Let's get the full meaning of this straight: nearly half of all PCs are effectively undefendable from malware infection.

When these PCs become infected, they come vectors for infecting other machines. They become part of the problem. They make the situation worse for all.

The situation for average folks buying new Windows PCs in not much better. Almost every new PC sold today comes equipped with Windows XP with Service Pack 1. That means it is missing every Windows Security Patch issued since SP1 was released. That folks, was September 9, 2002. No, that's not a typo - September 9, 2002!

This negligence is outrageous, the implications horrifying.

Take a single example. One of the many security patches missing on new PCs is the one that prevents it from being infected by the Sasser worm, a worm that you can get simply by connecting to the Internet.

And that's exactly what is happening to folks when they connect their brand new PCs to the Internet after installation. I've seen new PCs get infected less than a minute after first connection. A subscriber recently told me that he's seen it take as few as 15 seconds.

With a bit of luck, these brand new PCs will have a vendor installed anti-virus product. With even more luck, the AV product's signature database may be sufficiently up to date to catch the Sasser Virus.

But don't depend on it. All three Sasser infected PCs I've seen this year were new, brand-name machines, with virus scanners installed.

Here at Comp-U-Talk, Inc we specialize in creating secure PC's. Unless you specifically request otherwise, we send your new computer home with the latest Antivirus software fully updated, all security patches downloaded and installed, plus we include a free "spyware detector". We even take the time to show you how it all works, so you are comfortable with the product when you get it home. Will we be the cheapest computer? No.. But we offer the best service for slightly more money and that is something we are very proud of!

~Janet