-
Events
May 21, 2010 by Scot
Coming Soon!
Category: EventsTags: Events | Comments (0)
-
Video Tutorials
by Scot
Coming Soon!
Category: Video TutorialsTags: Video Tutorials | Comments (0)
-
Hi-tech parishioner makes crucial connections at St. Luke’s Church in Long Valley
December 4, 2009 by Eileen
Computer technology is not often associated with the divine; but getting it to run smoothly often is nothing short of miraculous. For the Pastor and office staff at St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church in Long Valley, however, it was the vision, expertise and generosity of parishioner Scot Gerardi — who is active in the Warren County business community — that resulted in the installment of a fully functional, secure and user-friendly system.
“Scot has changed the entire way we work at St. Luke’s,” said Office Manager Deirdre Aversa. “He not only has the expertise in technology but he also has the people skills as to be very considerate of the end user.”
Following a careful assessment of the church’s technology requirements, Gerardi, the owner of SJG Computer Associates, volunteered to design and implement a system that increased data protection, prevented unauthorized access and allowed greater mobility for the staff members.
“Scot’s ability to focus on problems and get to the source of those challenges is amazing,” said Father Michael Drury, pastor of St. Luke’s. “His constant caring and patience allowed us to use our computer skills in a way that would both help us communicate better with the parish community and enable us to be confident that the system is our friend and not our enemy. We benefited greatly from his professional approach to our needs.”
Gerardi installed a Windows 2003 Server as well as a router with firewall security features. He reformatted all of the desktops computers and reinstalled an upgraded operating system and other programs, including anti-virus software and automatic maintenance applications. Gerardi also set up a Virtual Private Network on site and at the staff members’ homes to allow remote access. He connected all of the personal computers in a closed controlled environment or “domain” to enhance safety.
“Security is of the utmost importance,” noted Gerardi. “The office had no protection up to this point.”
Gerardi has more than 20 years of corporate IT experience with companies that include AT&T Bell Laboratories and Merck. His company, SJG Computer Associates, offers maintenance, repair and prevention services, data recovery, wired and wireless network setup and backup services. Gerardi also provides on-site and remote support as well as user training and consulting. He continues to track the most recent trends in order to provide his clients with the best possible solutions and adheres to a philosophy of honesty, integrity and prompt and friendly service.
“I let my customers know up front what to expect,” Gerardi said. “My goals are for my client to understand the nature of the problem and solution and for me to remedy it in the minimum time necessary to get up and running.”
For Gerardi, the basic work at St. Luke’s is done and, although he does not get called upon often, he always is on hand to provide support for the system and its users.
“I wanted to make a difference,” Scot said. “I had fun doing it.”Source: The Warren Reporter
Category: Press ReleasesTags: anti-virus, Computer Maintenance, data protection, reformatte, router with firewall, secure, technology, user-friendly, Virtual Private Network, Windows 2003 Server | Comments (0)
-
How Do I Know If I Have Spyware / Malware
October 10, 2009 by Scot
Your computer becomes very slow and you have lots of trouble running any program. (No you don’t need a new computer)
You start getting pop-ups. A well known spyware program gives you the appearance of an antivirus (fake) program running. It tells you that your computer is infected. The infection actually is the program informing you that you have the infection. (How ironic is that?) Whatever you do don’t pay for it! This could possibly lead to someone stealing your credit card info which is not a good thing! This type of spyware is easy to remove by yourself. If you are afraid to do the following procedure, please give me a call and I will be glad to help you.
Spyware Removal / Malware
The antivirus type spyware / malware will not allow you to run much of anything in Windows. Here is a procedure to get rid of those nasty pop-ups that appear in your system tray:
- Shutdown and restart your computer.
- Press F8 while booting up.
- Chose Safe Mode. (This type of spyware does not load when in safe mode)
- When prompted, select Yes to put Windows into safe mode.
- Once Windows comes up, click on Start, select Search.
- In the search box type 1*.exe. This will search your computer for all files starting with a 1. (Usually this spyware has a filename that starts with a 1)
- If no files are found, substitute the 1 for 2, then 3, etc. all the way to 9.
- If a file(s) are found, delete them. There is no legitimate Windows file name that starts with a number.
- If nothing is found, reboot your computer and get a free program like threatfire or malwarebytes for removal.
Category: Computer Tips, Spyware / MalwareTags: fake antivirus, infected computer, Malware Removal, slow computer, Spyware Removal, unwanted pop-ups, Windows | Comments (0)
-
Spyware / Malware Prevention
by Scot
- Install Netcraft Toolbar or Siteadvisor for Internet Explorer (IE) or Firefox. There is also another plugin for Firefox called WOT (Web Of Trust).
- These applications rate web sites: (green – good, orange – caution, red – very suspicious and gray – not tested). Use these as a guide to surf safely and for downloading free files.
How Do I Get Spyware / Malware
You can get spyware three different ways:
- Email: Anyone (including your friends – they may not realize what the file contains. You have no idea where they got the program from) sending you an executable file. You save it an install it.
- No hardware firewall: Having no hardware firewall between your computer and the DSL or cable modem is a bad idea. They keep you from being attacked by the outside world. If there is none, you run the risk of having a malicious program installed on your computer without your knowledge. This won’t happen if your computer is turned off.
- Free Software: Downloading and installing free software from suspicious web sites (orange or red if Siteadvisor is installed). Inside these executable files may contain spyware or a virus. Stay away from these sites. Siteadvisor is not fool proof. It may give you a false positive (A site may come up bad but really may be good. That is why it is good to have a couple of these tools installed. See above.) You will keep yourself out of trouble.
Category: Computer Tips, Spyware / MalwareTags: Malware, safe browsing, Spyware, Spyware / Malware Prevention | Comments (0)
