In the past we have had a few articles featuring what you take with you to computer repairs. For this article, I wanted to show you my Technician gear. I have taken two photos of my Technician bag and the parts that I take onsite with a description for each item. Hopefully this helps some beginner techs create their own.
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As most technicians should know, “Java” by Sun Microsystems is a platform that allows certain programs to run (such as Azureus) and certain website applets to play. As with any web-capable technology, it is frequently being updated because of security exploits constantly being discovered. However, when you update Java it doesnt uninstall the old version which still leaves you vulnerable.

This is where JavaRa comes in. JavaRa is a small, freeware application designed to do two tasks. First, to check for any Java updates. And second, to uninstall any old versions of Java.

Although not very exciting, this tool is very important to computer security and should be added to your kits.

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Yesterday I recieved an email from a Technibble reader who had seen my web hosting prices and thought they extremely overpriced. He said that he pays $6 a month and gets much more space than the $15 per month plans that I had on offer. He said he thought Technibble preaches to provide value and not fleecing our customers.

It was a totally valid email that had a good observation and Im glad he sent it. This article is about why I charged more than most other web hosts.
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Anti-Malware toolkit is a free, portable application designed to bulk download the most recent versions of the tools we use for malware removal and put them in a designated directory (such as your USB thumb drive). Just tick the boxes of the software you want and press Download.

It has options to download the following software as the main malware removal applications:
SpywareBlaster, CCleaner, RogueRemover Free, SUPERAntiSpyware, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Spybot S&D, HijackThis

It also has the option to download the most recent definitions for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Spybot S&D. The software then has a “Recommended” section that gives you the option to download Firefox, Opera, Thunderbird, Avast, AntiVir, Comodo Firewall Pro and UPHClean.

It also provides the option to download a handful of common repair utilities such as Dial-a-fix, JavaRa, Autoruns, Process Explorer, Unlocker, LSPFix and Windows Installer Cleanup.

This is a handy tool to keep the installers on your USB Drive up to date.
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A poster on the Technibble forums recently mentioned that his client wanted him to provide and install pirate software onto their computer. He also mentioned that in his part of the world (the middle east) that pirate software is very common and readily available.

He asked our community whether he was handicapping his business by hesitating to provide pirate software when all the other technicians were doing it. It was a good question with a simple answer.
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Most techs with a few years of experience under their belt have probably come across the Windows XP corrupted registry hive problem at some point in their career. When it happens, Windows wont start and will present one of these messages:

• Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
• Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
• Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate

In most cases, Safe mode wont work either. The uniform approach to fixing this is by getting into the Windows XP repair console and manually replacing the file with the copy that was created when the system was first installed. However, any software or drivers (depending on whether it was SOFTWARE or SYSTEM that failed) that was installed after that point may not work since the registries for them hadnt been installed back then.

Here is my method that I have been using to fix this. It reverts the registry to only a few days earlier rather than back to when Windows was first installed.
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SmitFraudFix is a free, stand alone utility designed to remove resilient hijack malware. There are many types of malware out there that your standard antivirus and antispyware products cannot remove because its files are in use or as soon as one of the malware files is deleted, another part recreates it.

I personally use this tool a lot when clients computers are infected with those fake antiviruses which are hard to remove (eg. VirusBlast, AntiSpyCheck, TitanShield Antispyware, WinAntiSpyPro etc). This tool is essential for any technician doing virus removal work. For a list of what it removes, read on.
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We just got word from one of our readers that ZoneAlarm Forcefield will be free for this Tuesay (August 12th) at 6am PST. Normally Forcefield costs $29.99 to purchase which includes a years worth of subscription updates. The offer is valid for 24 hours after the launch.

For those of you who dont know what it is, ZoneAlarm Forcefield is a virtualization system that isolates your browser from the computer. If your browser did fall victim to an exploit or you are tricked into opening something you shouldnt, your computer is safe because the malware cannot touch your computers actual files or registry items.

ZAFF also attempts to stop sites from stealing your personal information. While in this virtualization “bubble”, ZAFF includes technology to jam keyloggers and block programs that snatch screenshots while you are surfing.

To download ZoneAlarm Forcefield, goto the following site on August 12th after 6am PST:

http://www.zonealarm.com/patchtuesday

Edit: Offer is now available for download. You might want to use a service like 10MinuteMail.com because it requires you to enter an email address so they can “periodically send you promotional offers”.

Special thanks to Gary for letting us know about this. If anyone else hears about similar freebies they would like to share with the Technibble community, please email us via our contact form.

Have you ever had a clingy customer?
A clingy customer is generally categorized as someone who calls you very frequently about small problems they could have figured out themselves; or call you at inappropriate times.
So why don’t we just get rid of them?
Because often they are often our “bread and butter client” and generate a lot of work for us, so we want to look after them.
Here is a guide on how to deal with these clingy customers.
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As Technicians, we love our USB thumb drives. It makes it so easy to carry all or computer repair utilities and keep it updated with the latest antivirus definitions. However, being so small it is also easy to accidently leave at a clients place, especially if the only USB ports on their computer are in the back.

This is where LostDrive can help. LostDrive is a small tool set to autorun on your USB drive and when it is plugged in, the autorun will say “Help Im Lost!” and if chosen, it will launch a user configurable message. The point of this is so you can set this message to something like “If found, please return to…”. If they see that the device is plugged in via “My Computer” and click on its drive icon it will also launch this message.
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