If you're using Mozilla Firefox (you should be) simply click the link below to find out if you're running the latest version of Flash, Java, and other frequently updated plugins.  Add this to your computer security routine.  Form good computer security habits now.  It will probably save you a lot of money and headaches.

If you're paying more than $0 for your home anti-virus software, you're probably paying too much.  Avira, a German security software company, offers its AntiVir Personal antivirus product free-of-charge to home users.

Detection Rates

This is the most important property of an antivirus.  According to recent tests conducted by AV-Comparatives.org, Avira scored higher than all of the major antivirus vendors including:  AVG, Avast, ESET, McAfee, Symantec (Norton),  and Trend Micro.

Resource Usage

In our personal experience, Avira is also one of the lightest antivirus products in terms of CPU and memory usage.  Many antivirus products can bog down a system and make it virtually unusable.  Older systems are especially vulnerable. 

Avira Antivir Personal can be downloaded at http://www.free-av.com.   Avira AntiVir Personal is for personal use only.  Business users should consider purchasing Avira AntiVir Professional.

Sources:

http://www.av-comparatives.org

http://www.free-av.com

http://www.avira.com

Many companies charge more than $1000 per device for data recovery.  Most companies also charge a non-refundable diagnosis fee even if they can't recover your data.  Gaslamp Computers does not operate like that.  We will never charge a diagnostics fee.

Data recovery doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive.  Gaslamp Computers offers affordable data recovery for homes and small businesses with prices starting at $80.

Here are a few simple steps to increase the probability of a successful data recovery.

• If you accidentally delete a file and it's not in the recycle bin, stop using the computer immediately by properly shutting down Windows.  Write down the name of the file so you don't forget it.  DO NOT turn the computer on until it is examined by an expert.
• If your Windows installation becomes corrupted (blue-screens),  DO NOT reinstall Windows if you have important data on the drive.
• DO NOT plug in an external hard drive or USB thumb flash drive that has potentially damaged data.  Every time this drive is mounted in Windows the probability of data recovery decreases.
• DO NOT try to disassemble a hard drive yourself.  This will likely lead to a permanently dead drive.

• DO store the drive or computer in a cool dry place until it can be examined by an expert.
• DO contact Gaslamp Computers at (619) 793-5545 or help@gaslampcomputers.com  to schedule a data recovery appointment.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a nice article concerning Facebook's new Instant Personalization program.  I recommend following the 5 steps and watching the video.

How to Opt Out of Facebook's Instant Personalization

In this video I show you how to incorporate the most popular social networking site (Facebook) into my favorite chat client (Pidgin).  This allows your to talk to your Facebook friends through Facebook Chat without opening the Facebook website.  And since it is going through Pidgin you get all of the Pidgin functionality such as chat logging and buddy notifications.  In addtion, if you have the OTR plugin, you will be able to encrypt your Facebook Chat conversations in Pidgin.

Facebook Chat for Pidgin plugin