Security Suite Enhancements | Y-Not Tech Services – Lethbridge, AB Computer Support

September 8, 2022 by Tony Whitney

This week we added 2 additions to our Security packages that are designed to help get a computer back up and running if some thing goes wrong.

The first addition is making a back up of your Windows Registry. The Registry is a collection of values that store settings for both Windows and many installed programs on your computer. The Registry can become corrupt by viruses, malware and failed installations so having a back up of a good working Registry is a huge bonus. Windows actually used to back it up automatically, but recently stopped.

The second change is that we will turn on and monitor Windows System Restore. This grabs and stores a sort-of ‘snapshot’ of your computer and then if problems arise, we can use System Restore to roll back to before the issue started.

Now, I don’t want to over-sell these — the 2 additions we’ve made aren’t going to work any miracles and they don’t make a system bullet proof. They are simply a few more tools added to our Security Suite to help us keep computers running great, or get them back to running great more easily.

If you currently subscribe to either our Gold Security Suite, or our Business Security Suite we’ve already rolled out these additions to you. If you aren’t subscribed — Well, why not!??

Just kidding, but we do believe we have a rock solid Computer Security plan and encourage you to check it out. You’ll get an Anti-virus software that we manage for you, making sure it’s up to date, scanning regularly and we’ll check out anything it finds to make sure your computer is clean. We also monitor and manage your Windows Updates and updates for many popular programs so you’re protected from dangerous exploits. Plus, we are constantly evaluating and testing more advances as we strive to stay one step ahead of the cybercriminals trying to get in. Why not book an appointment to get your system protected?

Tools To Protect Yourself Against Cyberattacks in 2020 | A Guest Post from TECHFOOLS

July 25, 2020 by Tony Whitney

The digital security landscape today is not what it used to be.

There was a time when desktop computers and other PCs would only ship with antivirus software. These days, we are seeing units hit the market with password managers, VPNs, and other security programs pre-installed. If anything, this shows that a lot of things have changed between then and now. [Read more…]

Top Four Ways to Keep Malware Off Your Computer | Y-Not Tech Services – Lethbridge AB

December 25, 2018 by Tony Whitney

A malware infection on your computer is never fun. Lost time, repair costs, data loss, and frustration can all result from a single piece of malware or a virus on your computer. Y-Not Tech Services wants to help you avoid this problem with four tips to keep malware and viruses off your system. [Read more…]

Seven Things You Need to Do After a Tech Support Scam | Y-Not Tech Services – Lethbridge, AB

December 5, 2018 by Tony Whitney

Two weeks ago we talked about how to spot and avoid Tech Support Scams, but what if you’ve already been caught up in a scam? First, it’s important to realize that it isn’t your fault. The people running these scams are professionals and you are not alone in falling for it. Each year, according to Microsoft, about 3.3 million people are caught in these scams and the scammers take in up to 1.5 billion dollars. Now that we know there are a lot of people being hit by this, let’s look at what we can do if you’ve been hit. Here are seven things you need to do to recover from a Tech Support Scam.

[Read more…]

SPYWARE VS. ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE | Y-Not Tech Services – Lethbridge, AB

September 12, 2017 by Tony Whitney

So many of my clients think that because they have antivirus protection, that they are protected against spyware. This is so far from the case I can’t even tell you about the horror stories I have seen in the past few months. [Read more…]

Y-Not’s Strategy to Avoid Data Disaster in Lethbridge, AB and Canada

June 20, 2017 by Tony Whitney

My clients often tell me that their Data is the most important thing on their Computers. And I can see why it would be! With precious family photos and videos, important documents and so much more stored on our computers, a loss of data can be a disaster. This is why I talk about how important back-ups are so often on the site and to my clients. I want to focus on a service I offer that I feel gives everything needed to avert Data Disaster.

Y-Not Tech Services’ Gold Plus Package

For $44/month you get Virus and Malware protection as well as an off-site back-up.

The virus protection often saves you from needing to use the back-up at all. My Virus and Malware protection has been proven to provide protection for most of the recent attacks that either hold your data for ransom or just deletes it outright. However, new methods are always being developed and some might slip through. This is where the back-up comes in. If a virus or malicious program sneaks past our protection and affect your data, our back-up will ensure that you can get back up and running as soon as possible.

For less than the cost of a coffee a day, you can have peace of mind knowing your important data is safe and secure against threats like Viruses, Malware and Ransomware.

VIRUS AND MALWARE PROTECTION + OFF-SITE BACKUP = DATA DISASTER AVOIDANCE

Special Offer: Mention ‘Data Disaster’ and receive $5 off each month for the first year.

To start protecting your data today book an appointment:

PS For more special offers, tips and advice Click Here to get updates emailed to you.

Y-Not’s Recommended Antivirus Software

May 30, 2017 by Tony Whitney

Here at Y-Not Tech Services, we have seen a lot of virus and malware infected systems. Dating back to my days at the retail store, I have been dealing with badly infected systems on a regular basis. Some of these systems were using free antivirus software like we talked about last week. Others had paid versions of Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro or Bit Defender. And of course, some of them had no virus protection at all. This last group I didn’t feel too bad about breaking the bad news to. I feel as a computer owner, it is our responsibility to have some protection on them. Especially if we are browsing and downloading indiscriminately. Those with the free software (remember, I was one of those for years!) thought they were protected and I felt bad breaking the bad news of infection to them. But those that paid money to one of the big Antivirus companies, only to feel betrayed when they still got infected I felt horrible for. The worst part was that they had often bought the software from the store I worked at, or even from me personally! And the only way I could help them now was to charge them $200+ and wipe their computer clean as per company policy. YUCK! Look, new viruses and malware are being developed all the time. They can slip through even the best Antivirus software.

How a Virus Gets In

I’m not saying that Norton, McAfee or Bit Defender are bad products (well, McAfee I’m not so sure about…). So, what goes wrong when systems running these programs gets infected with malware? It could be a number of things, really. The number one thing I see is when the software isn’t getting updates and the user doesn’t notice this. When this happens, even new viruses that the antivirus company has found can get through because the user’s system isn’t getting updates from their servers. Secondly, a brand new, undiscovered virus can slip through and infect the system. Ideally, these viruses will be picked up on the next scan, once the virus is in the software’s database, but often it’s too late at that point. The virus may have mutated and hidden in the system files. It’s surprised me how much Emsisoft can pick up, that these other, well-known software misses.

Emsisoft – Tony’s Current Favourite

Upon discovering Emisoft, it quickly became my current favourite antivirus. I say current because my antivirus of choice changes over time. A long time ago, on a computer system far far away, AVG Free was my favourite antivirus. Then they stripped out features and pushed users toward their paid version. Norton took up residence as my favourite next (although this was somewhat pushed on me by the retail company I worked for, my personal research showed it to be a strong and surprisingly lightweight program). When I saw systems running Norton come into the shop with infections too often, I shifted to become a fan of Bit Defender. I still feel Bit Defender is a strong contender. I went through a time where I relied on Free Antivirus Software but was dismayed to find malware slipping in. I searched for and tested a number of Antivirus programs that were recommended to me by colleagues in the technician world. One stood out to me for a few reasons:

Emsisoft Anti-malware. When I installed this on my system it found malware that my previous antivirus software missed. I was also impressed with the minimal resources that Emsisoft used. I have never noticed a performance hit, even while it’s running a full scan.

“Hey Tony,” you might be saying “Are you sure it’s not just your favourite because you sell it?” This is a valid question. And the answer is no. I could have chosen to re-sell almost any of the top names out there. They all have programs for technicians and software salespeople. I chose Emsisoft based on its performance and value to you, my client. There were a few other contenders, but they all lacked one key feature, I love about Emisoft. When I install Emsisoft on a device, I can monitor it from my own computer. I can see if you have the latest virus definitions, when the last time a scan was performed on your system and what the result of the scan was. To put it simply: It allows me to manage your Antivirus software so you don’t have to. Why not let Tony deal with it? I haven’t found a client that ENJOYS the chore of looking after their Antivirus software. With Emsisoft, you don’t need to worry about it at all. I handle it.

“But Tony, you said that some viruses can get through even the best antivirus programs. Can they get through Emsisoft?” It’s possible. That’s why with your subscription to Emisoft with Y-Not Tech Services, I include unlimited free Malware and Antivirus removals. You read that right. I really don’t want you to worry about viruses or malware. Let me handle it all.

$19/Month

Want to handle Emsisoft on your own? Click here for a free 30 day trial.

What Other’s are Saying About Emsisoft

You don’t need to take my word for it. Hopefully, you trust me, but if you’re new to my site and my services (welcome!) I get that you would want other opinions. So here are a few.

Pcmag.com says, “Excellent scores in our malware blocking tests. Good scores in lab tests. Effective behavior-based detection can even spot ransomware. Clean, simple user interface.” and, “Emisoft Anti-Malware focuses on the core task of keeping your PCs free of malware. It does a good job, and with a clean, simple interface, it looks good too.”

Bleepingcomputer.com has this to say: “Emsisoft AntiMalware has become a favourite at BleepingComputer.com. It’s dual scanning engine consists of BitDefender definitions as well as definitions created by Emsisoft themselves allow for very good and up-to-date detections. Emsisoft is routinely used in our virus removal guides as it is … on top of the latest viruses.” They add, “Overall, we have been very pleased with the performance of Emsisoft AntiMalware and would definitely recommend it as a necessary component of your security toolkit.”

Digitalcitizen.life claims Emisoft, “offers a very good antivirus engine: it detected and removed all the samples we used in our tests, scanning our test computer was reasonably fast and we were swiftly blocked from visiting dangerous websites.”

You can read more at http://www.anti-malware-reviews.com/

Book an appointment to learn more or to have Y-Not Tech Services handle all your PC Security needs.

Emsisoft can be installed remotely at no additional cost!

Introducing PC Monitoring Service – Lethbridge, AB and Beyond

March 7, 2017 by Tony Whitney

Today, I’m happy to announce a new service here at Y-Not Tech Services. PC Monitoring. This is a simple and lightweight application that you can install on your Windows Computer that monitors the health of your computer and Alerts us both if there is an issue. It also lets you contact me instantly if anything goes wrong and even allows you to send me a picture of your screen so I know exactly what’s going on and how to help. I’m very happy to be able to offer this wonderful service completely free of charge. [Read more…]