I’m very excited about the news this evening!

VIPRE 4.0 has been released to customers. While that is interesting, the best part is: current customers of VIPRE have the ability to upgrade to 4.0 for FREE!

If you are a customer, or visitor, that has purchased VIPRE and you missed the prompts to upgrade the program, you can simply visit http://shop.sunbelt-software.com/upgrade/ to obtain the latest antivirus technology. Make sure to have your license key handy!

If you have any questions, please let us know!
Justin

It seems that other computer repair companies in Portland are just starting to see this malware/spyware/virus as well. Protocol16 has clean at least 40 computers infected by this stuff as a lot of people are getting it, and that doesn’t count all the virtual computers we infected studying it (see the video link below for a sample of one of those tests). First – DON’T give your credit card info away! Second, write down our number and just turn the power off on the computer – don’t bother waiting for Windows to shut down.

Give us a call, we’re very experienced with this “software”, as it’s a reincarnation of several other types of programs. Antivirus 2010 is not the only version of this stuff out there, so be careful.

We started studying this software, and others like it, back in October when it first started to become a problem. In fact, we posted a video about how you get infected and what it does (luckily, I stopped recording before the Porn pop-ups started).

The fix for this is normally pretty quick as we have a lot of experience with it. In fact, our latest customer paid less than our hourly fee (currently $70), complete with pickup, cleaning (physically and removing the Antivirus software), updates to several types of programs and drop off… And all that was on our busiest day yet, a record breaker for us.

Give us a call and we’ll be glad to help out: 503-524-9047.
Justin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Beaverton, OR —Dec. 21, 2009— Protocol16, a computer company focusing on on-site computer repair, has formed a partnership agreement with Sunbelt Software to provide a unique security solution for customers.

Protocol16 will recommend, and resell, Vipre anti-virus, with anti-spyware capabilities to it’s customers.

“I have used several anti-virus companies over the years, to include Personal and Enterprise level products, and I must say, Vipre is at the top of my list.” said Justin Royce, owner of Protocol16. “Not only is Vipre fast and unobtrusive to computer users, it recently won a VB100 score at the latest anti-virus face off. Finding all 100 random “in the wild” files on the test is a pretty big thing. I’m sure our customers will agree that Vipre is a better solution than others as well.”

About Protocol16
Protocol16 was started in 2007 in response to a growing demand for technical services in the military communities of Germany. Since starting, Protocol16 has relocated to Oregon and launched a website and mobile computer repair business in the Portland Metro region. Headquartered in Beaverton, Protocol16 is quickly becoming a leader in mobile repair for businesses and consumers. Protocol16 maintains that customer satisfaction is the absolute primary goal of the business.

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This is something that Protocol16 sees a lot around the Portland Metro and we have a very specific answer:

“No”

The reasons:

• The free versions of most software packages, including AVG, are for home use only. The licensing requirements for most software packages require a license to be purchased for commercial use. While this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, there are stipulations to most software, including Windows, that you need to know about: Microsoft and other software manufacturers reserve the right, in their licenses, to come into YOUR business and audit your software licenses. If Microsoft or another company audits your software and finds problems, they will alert other manufacturers of those problems, causing a legal nightmare for you and your business. If you’re currently in a situation that could cost you money from the above situation, click here for a news story about how bad it can get… Not to continue pounding on this horrifying situation, but the Business Software Alliance makes it easy for current and past employees to report licensing fraud, to the tune of a $1 Million reward (and as of this writing, AVG is a “Spotlight” member)… If you’ve paid attention to past stories, you know a little bit about Page Rank (popularity, according to Google on a 0-10 sliding ranking system – 10 being the most popular) – BSA has a Page Rank of 7, higher than the Yahoo homepage at 5.
• AVG, while popular, is not as thorough as it should be. With the latest tests from AV-Comparatives, AVG didn’t place well. This may sound odd, but despite all the “good” reviews of AVG, it doesn’t work as well as it should – Free is Free, and you typically get what you pay for. While there are other free antivirus programs out there, they are not for commercial use.

What Antivirus Program Should I Use?
Protocol16 works closely with many companies to test software and hardware. We’ve worked with Symantec (aka: Norton), McAfee, and others. The best Antivirus solutions we’ve found are:

Home Use: (Free)

Avira Antivirus – MANY computer repair shops use Avira to help correct virus issues. While a lot of us use the the registered version, as well as other software, Avira is one of the best antivirus packages.

Business Use: (Commercial)

G Data: Considered the best antivirus package in the AV-Comparatives review showcase. It had low false positives, let very few actual infections past it and shined on all the tests earning it a 3 out of 3 review.

VIPRE: This is a new-comer to the market. They’ve hit advertising hard and fast with full page ads in all the Microsoft publications and more. While they have not been tested on AV-Comparatives, for now Protocol16 will recommend using it. We’ve had it installed on our internal network for testing and it has not slowed down anything or caused any tpe of crazy problems. We’ll revisit our review once AV-Comparatives reviews them as well.

The reason we listed three different software packages is because every situation is unique, requirements are different and we’re not going to tell you what you should install.

Lastly, the licensing situation above can be nasty, any good PC Repair company can help assist with licensing issues and assist in self-auditing your computers and networks to ensure that crazy things don’t happen. Coming from a large-network environment, I’ve been through several audits and as such, Protoco1l6 is more than capable in assisting in setting up an internal program to help you protect yourself.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them below or give Protocol16 a call.
Justin

There has been a rash of sites across the internet that have been hacked by various bots and “evil” type people that have taken over websites all over the place. This weekend, I was on a major blogging directory looking at the Top 100 sites and decided to visit one. I was instantly met with a “You’re infected” message that quickly turned my Mac browser into Windows, with Windows Prompts and all the goodies – including hard drives that I didn’t even have…

With all that, I figured there are a lot of people out there that don’t know what to watch out for, so I took screen shots while it proceeded to “scan” my computer for viruses and spyware. Note: If you haven’t gotten the humor or hints, the following describes exactly what some people see when they get infected with fake antivirus software.

So, without further delay, I present a Protocol16 first: a Video about Spyware and Virus infection on a Windows 7 computer. See it here. I go through exactly what happens with a general user when they are prompted to download and install a specific type of fake antivirus package.