Symptoms of a faulty, bad laptop power connection:
How laptop internal power jacks break:
An internal power jack on a laptop "unseats" from the solder joints, or the thin prongs snap away from the board causing the electric circuit to stop or be intermittent. Most repair shops will diagnose this as a bad motherboard which can be a $450-$600 estimate repair by them, replacing the motherboard. Manufactures charge $500 for power jack repair on laptops, once again by replcaing the entire motherboard. (mainboard)
In most cases, 90% of the time, the internal power jack on a laptop can be replaced, if completely broken, OR repaired. Sometimes, it can very well be a bad, faulty motherboard in the laptop. If the power connector within the laptop is completely broken, cracked, it could of "shorted" out, or power surged the motherboard. Causing damage to the motherboard (mainboard). Operating a laptop WITH a faulty power connector (if you move the power cord into the right position, it powers on, for example) can also eventually short, and damage the motherboard (mainboard)
Depending on your model laptop, the extent of damage of the internal power connector, your internal power jack (connector) can be repaired at $125-$165 Includes part, labor, dis-assembly, re-assembly and a complete test of your laptop. For more information: Lightspeeds Computer Repair of Augusta http://www.augustapcrepair.com (Look under the Laptop PC Repair link on left side of main page) Feel free to contact with any questions.
Whooooa, American Airlines lightning strike
Pictures8:30 PM GMT | Read comments(0)Conficker wakes up, updates via P2P, drops payload
"The Conficker worm is finally doing something--updating via peer-to-peer between infected computers and dropping a mystery payload on infected computers, Trend Micro said on Wednesday."
Full Article Here8:26 PM GMT | Read comments(0)April 0360 minutes: Conficker, Infected
Propaganda? Scare tactics? The Risk?
"On the surface, April 1 came and went without a peep from the dreaded Conficker megaworm. But security experts see a frightening reality, one where Conficker is now more powerful and more dangerous than ever.
In the first minute of April 1, Conficker did exactly what everyone knew it was going to do: It successfully phoned home for an update. And while it was fun to imagine what nasty payload that update may have included (it was fun, wasn't it?), the result was not outwardly catastrophic; rather than a blueprint for world domination, the update contained instructions on how to dig in even deeper."
Full Article Link
For those whose preferred email client is Microsoft Outlook 2007 on a standalone machine, here are five ways to backup your Microsoft Outlook data, avoid stress and save your data. Please note that the following applies to data files only and not to toolbar settings, signature files and profile entries."
5 Easy Ways To Back Up Your Microsoft Outlook Data7:13 AM GMT | Read comments(0)5 Ways To Fix A Stuck Pixel On Your Screen"A dead or stuck pixel on an LCD screen or TFT can be incredibly annoying. You’ll be staring at it for days on end, wondering for how long you’ll be without your screen or maybe your entire laptop if you decided to turn it in for repair or replacement. All that grieve over something as unimportant, yet highly irritating as a malfunctioning pixel."5 Ways To Fix A Stuck Pixel On Your Screen7:06 AM GMT | Read comments(0)January 17Video Captures USAIR Jet Splashing Down In Hudson@Looks like from an outside security camera on the Hudson, plain hits water about 2 minutes into the clip. Must of been a hard stop, plane came to a complete stop almost instantly. Amazing!Video Captures Jet Slashing Down In HudsonFrom Liveleak.comand with a few more different angles, and actual 911 callers calling in:More Hudson River USAIR Splash Videos, and Passengers Stories12:35 PM GMT | Read comments(0)January 08How do viruses and worms spread in e-mail?
There are all sorts of things you can find in your email box. In the "destructive" and/or "annoying" category go e-mail attachments that contain:
A Trojan horse, aptly named after the seemingly harmless tool of destruction in Homer's Iliad, secretly carries often-damaging software in a "plain wrapper." The plain wrapper is normally an e-mail file attachment from someone you may or may not know. The file attachment name itself can also be very misleading. When you run the attachment, it can do all sorts of things, from erasing files to changing your desktop. It then sends itself along to other people in your address book so that it can propagate itself.
Here are two examples to help you understand how e-mail viruses work.
The payload of the worm will destroy any file with the extension .h, .c, .cpp, asm, .doc, .ppt, or .xls on your hard drives, any mapped drives, and any network machines that are accessible each time it is executed. This continues to occur until the worm is removed.
You may receive the worm as an attachment called zipped_files.exe, masquerading itself as the usual self-extracting zip file. But, when run, this executable will copy itself to your Windows System directory with the filename Explore.exe or to your Windows directory with the filename _setup.exe. The worm modifies your WIN.INI or registry such that the file Explore.exe is executed each time you start Windows.
Symantec offers more technical information and explains what you need to do if you suspect Worm.ExploreZip is in your system.
In certain special cases, e-mail attachments can execute even without your interaction.
Microsoft Outlook (or Express) with Internet Explorer 5 must be used in order for the worm to propagate.
The worm utilizes a known security hole in Microsoft Outlook/IE5 to insert a script file, UPDATE.HTA, when the e-mail is viewed. It is not necessary to detach and run an attachment.
UPDATE.HTA is placed in Program-StartUp of the Start menu. Therefore, the infection routine is not executed until the next time you start your computer. UPDATE.HTA is a script file that uses MS Outlook to send the worm e-mail message to everyone in the MS Outlook address book. By patching the known security hole in Microsoft Outlook/IE5, the worm will no longer propagate.
Keep your virus software up-to-date with the latest virus signatures from the software vendor, since the anti-virus software cannot detect new viruses without an update. If you use Norton AntiVirus software, ensure that Auto-Protect is enabled. Current Norton AntiVirus software automatically alerts you when your virus signature files are over 30 days old. Norton's LiveUpdate can also automate updating.
If you think a virus has infected your PC thanks to an e-mail virus that mails itself to people in your address book, call those people and tell them not to open the messages or attachments -- that is the only effective way to stop the spread.