WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 WEBDISPATCH.COM has been selected for the 2009 Best of Danville Award in the Computer Service & Repair category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

 Complete Press Release

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Press Releases

San Ramon, California - January 7, 2010 - WebDispatch.com, your local provider of computer support, repair, and networking services is pleased to announce the addition of two new partners, John Schroeder and Mike Palmer.

"The technical knowledge that John and Mike bring to our team allows us to streamline our processes and expand our service offerings into new areas", said Jim Erickson, owner of WebDispatch.com.  "We are lucky to have their proven technical and business experience."

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Articles

Don't be Scammed by "Scareware"
Computer Viruses - Part II

Back in October, our newsletter article for the month talked about symptoms of computer viruses and how to avoid getting them. The latest batch of viruses that have been appearing disguise themselves to look like messages from real anti-virus programs. These types of viruses are called "scareware".  Here at WebDispatch.com, we have seen such a large increase in scareware infections and re-infections that we thought more information would be helpful to our clients.

An Anti-Virus Program MUST be installed your computer. If you have an expired program, you should renew it immediately. Such programs are a "must have".  Anti-Virus programs:

Should be set to automatically update definitions and programs.

Should be set to automatically scan/clean your machine periodically.

Will NOT stop you from downloading a Trojan even if you are being tricked into doing so.

You should be familiar with how your Anti-Virus Program notifies you of a problem and how to respond to it. ANY virus alert being issued to you in an unfamiliar format should be suspected of being a "rogue program" or scareware.

Be ALERT to version updates for your Resident Anti-Virus Program. Support and definition updates for older versions will generally stop after a short period of time rendering them useless against new infections.

In addition to Resident Anti-Virus programs, we recommend you also install Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware programs.  These programs should be updated and run periodically (once per week is a good start).  If you suspect you have downloaded a virus, running these types of programs immediately can sometimes catch and remove the virus before it has done any damage.

Blogs, Social networking sites such a Facebook, or any site which allows users to place links on the site are particularly vulnerable to these viruses.  Use caution when clicking on any links from these types of websites. 

But even commercial websites, such as the New York Times aren't immune to these type of attacks.  A few months ago, I was reading an article on the New York Times, clicked on a link, and was shocked to see a pop-up telling me my computer was infected. Fortunately, I knew not to click on the pop-up, but to immediately close my browser and update and run my anti-virus, anti-spyware & anti-malware programs.  I acted, before the virus was able to download and cause any damage.

In all cases, if something different appears on your screen (especially a message indicating you are infected) Do NOT click anywhere on the message even to say "NO" to the request or to "X" out of it.  Instead close the browser screen from the taskbar at the bottom of the screen by right clicking on it and taking the "close" option.  If that doesn't work, immediately disconnect from the internet by shutting down your wireless connection, disconnecting your Ethernet cable or turning off your router or modem.  If all else fails, turn your computer off.  Update and run your anti-spyware, anti-malware and anti-virus programs immediately.  If you act fast enough, you may be able to stop the virus before it causes any damage.