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This is a list of frequently asked
questions. Please read through these to see if your question may
already be answered here.
You may also call us at:
(09) 835-0479 |
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| SERVICE RELATED |
• What are your
business hours?
• What makes you
different from other service companies?
• What areas do you
service?
• Where are you
located? |
| COMPUTER QUESTIONS |
• Do you sell used
computers?
• What is a virus?
• What is a worm?
• What is a Trojan?
• How do I know if
I have a virus?
• What is Spyware?
• What is a Rootkit?
• What are these
update reminders I keep getting?
• What is Java?
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| Q: |
WHAT ARE YOUR HOURS? |
| A: |
We normally
schedule house calls between 11am and 5pm
Monday to Friday, although this is not hard and fast - we do have some
flexibility to meet our customers needs.
We also do house calls on Saturdays if required.
We do not work Sundays or public holidays. |
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| Q: |
WHAT MAKES
YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SERVICE COMPANIES? |
| A: |
People and
Businesses around the world depend on Computer Troubleshooters. We’re
the world’s #1 network of computer professionals. There are many
reasons our customers call Computer Troubleshooters instead of someone
else. Here are just a few –
• We understand computers
and technology issues.
• We come to you with onsite and professional service.
• Computer Troubleshooters care about our customers.
• We won’t call a job complete until the problem is resolved.
Computer Troubleshooters
provides the service and peace of mind you deserve. Call us today!
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| Q: |
WHAT
AREAS DO YOU SERVICE? |
| A: |
We service
the Waitakere City area. If you need service out of this area, please
call 0800 PCTROUBLE (0800 728768) for your closest Computer
Troubleshooter. |
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| Q: |
WHERE ARE
YOU LOCATED? |
| A: |
Our workshop
is located in Henderson CBD. However,
as the majority of our work is out of the workshop, there is often
no-one there, so we do not have a customer
waiting area. If you want to bring your PC to us then we do have an
arrangement with the local Cartridge World
franchise for this situation. You can take your PC to them, complete
our Job Form, and we will get the PC to
our workshop for evaluation. If there is any cost over the minimum
charge we will contact you before
doing any further work. When the job is completed, we return it to
Cartridge World, where you can pay them on our behalf, and pick up your
computer. Cartridge World are located at 16 Railside Ave,
Henderson (next to the back entrance to Westfield carpark area). |
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| Q: |
DO YOU SELL
USED COMPUTERS OR PARTS? |
| A: |
No, we only
sell new computers and parts. Sorry though, we do not do "over the
counter" sales. All the parts we sell, we install. |
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| Q: |
WHAT IS A
VIRUS? |
| A: |
A computer
virus is a program – a piece of executable code – that has the unique
ability to replicate. Like biological viruses, computer viruses can
spread quickly and are often difficult to eradicate. They can attach
themselves to just about any type of file and are spread as files that
are copied and sent from individual to individual.
In addition to replication, some computer viruses share another
commonality: a damage routine that delivers the virus payload. While
payloads may only display messages or images, they can also destroy
files, reformat your hard drive, or cause other damage. If the virus
does not contain a damage routine, it can cause trouble by consuming
storage space and memory, and degrading the overall performance of your
computer.
Several years ago most viruses spread primarily via floppy disk, but
the Internet has introduced new virus distribution mechanisms. With
email now used as an essential business communication tool, viruses are
spreading faster than ever. Viruses attached to email messages can
infect an entire enterprise in a matter of minutes, costing companies
millions of dollars annually in lost productivity and clean-up expenses.
Viruses won't go away anytime soon: More than 60,000 have been
identified, and 400 new ones are created every month, according to the
International Computer Security Association (ICSA). With numbers like
this, it's safe to say that most organizations will regularly encounter
virus outbreaks. No one who uses computers is immune to viruses. |
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| Q: |
WHAT IS A
WORM? |
| A: |
A worm is a
computer program that has the ability to copy itself from machine to
machine. Worms normally move around and infect other machines through
computer networks. Using a network, a worm can expand from a single
copy incredibly quickly. For example, the Code Red worm replicated
itself over 250,000 times in approximately nine hours on July 19, 2001.
A worm usually exploits some sort of security hole in a piece of
software or the operating system. For example, the Slammer worm (which
caused mayhem in January 2003) exploited a hole in Microsoft's SQL
server.
Worms use up computer time and network bandwidth when they are
replicating, and they often have some sort of evil intent. A worm
called Code Red made huge headlines in 2001. Experts predicted that
this worm could clog the Internet so effectively that things would
completely grind to a halt.
The Code Red worm slowed down Internet traffic when it began to
replicate itself, but not nearly as badly as predicted. Each copy of
the worm scanned the Internet for Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers
that do not have the Microsoft security patch installed. Each time it
found an unsecured server, the worm copied itself to that server. The
new copy then scanned for other servers to infect. Depending on the
number of unsecured servers, a worm could conceivably create hundreds
of thousands of copies. |
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| Q: |
WHAT IS
A TROJAN? |
| A: |
A Trojan is a
piece of code that performs unexpected or unauthorized, often
malicious, actions. The main difference between a Trojan and a virus is
the inability to replicate. Trojans cause damage, unexpected system
behavior, and compromise the security of systems, but do not replicate.
If it replicates, then it should be classified as a virus.
A Trojan, coined from Greek mythology's Trojan horse, typically comes
in good packaging but has some hidden malicious intent within its code.
When a Trojan is executed users will likely experience unwanted system
problems in operation, and sometimes loss of valuable data. |
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| Q: |
HOW
DO I KNOW IF I HAVE A VIRUS? |
| A: |
You must
remember that there are very many things that can go wrong with your
computer and a virus is not always to blame.
The only way you can know whether or not your computer is infected is
by scanning your machine with an up to date anti-virus program. |
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| Q: |
WHAT
IS SPYWARE? |
| A: |
Spyware apps
sneak onto your machine when you download many file-sharing services,
open infected e-mails, or click on dubious Internet pop-up ads. They
can manipulate your system, record your habits, and steal your
passwords and credit card numbers. Depending on their degree of
aggressiveness, they can steal your privacy or even your identity. And
they can be terribly difficult to remove. |
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| Q: |
WHAT
IS A ROOTKIT? |
| A: |
A rootkit is a collection of tools (programs) that enable
administrator-level access to a computer or computer network.
Typically, a cracker installs a rootkit on a computer after first
obtaining user-level access, either by exploiting a known vulnerability
or cracking a password. Once the rootkit is installed, it allows the
attacker to mask intrusion and gain root or privileged access to the
computer and, possibly, other machines on the network.
A rootkit may consist of spyware and other programs that: monitor
traffic and keystrokes; create a "backdoor" into the system for the
hacker's use; alter log files; attack other machines on the network;
and alter existing system tools to escape detection.
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| Q: |
WHAT
ARE THESE UPDATE REMINDERS I KEEP GETTING? |
| A: |
Software developers will periodically release updates to their
programs. Many programs these days can search for
updates on the internet automatically. Updates can be anything from
fixing security weaknesses or vulnerabilities,
fixing "bugs", minor improvements or enhancements. Common programs that
will automatically check for updates
include Microsoft Windows, Office, antivirus software, Java, Adobe
products, etc. These ones are safe to update, in fact, we recommend it
for the ones mentioned here. There are also bogus programs that will
prompt you for
updates, so beware of them. If in doubt, contact us at Computer
Troubleshooters for advice. |
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| Q: |
WHAT IS
JAVA? |
| A: |
Java is a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems to support
widespread software distribution, in particular over
the internet. It is a smaller and more secure version of the C++
programming language. Java is used in many
applications, web based or otherwise. Programmers use Java to write
these applications. For you to use these applications you need to have
the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Open Office from openoffice.org is
a well known stand alone application that uses Java. If you use Open
Office, the JRE will be installed on your computer also.
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