News from PillowPC.com

January 8th:  Updates and Thank Yous!

The move to Brentwood from Georgetown, TX has turned out to be a wonderful thing.  I've met some absolutely fantastic people, who are as eager to see me succeed as I am. 

I wanted to post a special thanks to my State Farm agent, Jose Martinez, whose friendship and referrals were among my very first in Brentwood.  Jose, along with his wife Martha and his outstanding staff, should be your first (and only) stop when shopping for home and auto insurance.  These are amazing and friendly people, and worthy of your trust and loyalty.  State Farm in general has been nothing short of spectacular when handling claims for my wife and me, and working with an office like Jose and Martha's will give you added peace of mind.

I'm working to clean up some of the links on the site right now (a few went dead on me).  It seems the strongest spyware-fighter sites (the sites with the funds to host downloads and extensive forums) tend to draw some unwanted attention from the spyware producers...attention that overwhelms links and burns up precious bandwidth.  Yes, the spyware producers are placing payloads in their products that attack  anti-spyware resources/sites, and force the webmasters to change links occasionally to stop the artificial traffic from degrading services to their intended customers (that would be you and me).  I've also got a few pages that refer to my former location in TX, and I'm refinishing those areas as well.

The folks at Webroot Software (the makers of SpySweeper) were kind enough to send me a few copies of their newest version release for testing.  This new version of SpySweeper (4.5-4.6) is a great upgrade, and finally includes some real ability to attack morphing spyware (programs that change their names, and then re-write themselves into your folders and registry, as fast you can delete them...very icky, very hard to kill).  While I still recommend you scan your PC with multiple spyware cleaners (Ad-Aware and Spybot, specifically), the active component of SpySweeper will go a loooong way to keeping your computer spyware / adware / malware free.  Remember, SpySweeper is not just a cleaner!  It's also an active spyware defender, and that's what makes it so critical to your internet defense arsenal.  At about $30/yr, it's well worth your investment.  You can download and purchase SpySweeper directly from Webroot at this link.

And finally, I've given up on Norton and McAfee "security suites".  Do you really want a product that constantly produces popups and warnings?  Do you need to be endlessly reminded to spend your $75/yr for the subscription?  Do you really want a security product that bogs your system down, and slows your work and surfing pleasure? And worst of all, do you really want to spend that money on products that are not strong enough to protect you from today's threats?!

I've had around 30 customers in the last 30 days with these products installed, and nearly every one of them has asked me for a less-chatty, more effective alternative.  Everyone of these customers called me in for help with a spyware problem.  When I scanned their computers, in nearly every occurrence, I found at least one trojan virus on the system, with Norton/McAfee fully activated and running in fully protection mode.  On several systems, I found more than 50 trojan viruses.  In such cases, I immediately uninstall the entire protection suite, and then I head over to Grisoft Software, and download AVG-Free Edition.

AVG - Free Edition is an outstanding product.  It's very light on your system resources (you'll barely notice a performance hit from its presence), it updates automatically and updates in just a few seconds (on broadband connections), and it never never never pops up a message, unless it actually detects a virus/worm/trojan hitting your system.  And best of all?  IT WORKS!  It works better than Norton or McAfee by a wide margin (to be totally honest, it's nearly as good as Panda (we reviewed Panda further down in this section) at stopping viruses/worms/trojans...it just doesn't have any effect on spyware like Panda).  I rely on AVG everyday to keep my customer's safe, once I discover that Norton or McAfee have failed them. 

September 5th, 2005:  Open for Business (for real this time)!

Alright!  The new office is setup, the ads are placed, the business cards are in, the new phone is on, and all the required new business info has been filed with the local, county, and state agencies.  We're open and taking customers in Eastern Contra Costa County.  I'm a home-based business, so please make your first contact by phone.

My first customer broke all my previous records for spyware infections:  2700+ infections found on the very first scan, and dozens of them were of the tough-to-remove 'morphing' variety. *shiver*  Ironically, the customer had Spy Assassin on the PC (we wrote about Spy Assassin way back in March, 2005), along with several other "anti-spyware" programs, most of which I would never recommend to anyone.  On that same PC were dozens of trojan-type virus infections, which slipped right past Norton Anti-Virus 2004 edition.  Most of these spyware infections were killed by good old Ad-Aware and Spybot.  The 'morphing' infections took hours of manual manipulation by me to destroy.  The trojans were killed by a free scan, using Panda's ActiveScan.

See our sections on Spyware Removal and Spyware Prevention for more information about the right software products to use to stop such infections in their tracks.

August 8th, 2005:  Open for Business, now in Brentwood, CA!

Man, what a drive!  Two recommendations for anyone who ever wants to move themselves cross-country, or even across town: 

First, rent from Penske...that 26' truck was a thing of beauty, and performed near-flawlessly (I blew out the A/C around the middle of New Mexico, and had to suck-up the drive through the high desert).  Still, they voluntarily compensated me for that bit of suffering, and their prices and service just crushed UHaul and Budget Rental.

Next, if you don't have a ton of buddies to help you load that huge moving truck, head on over to Emove, and hire some helpers.  I was able to hire crews to help me both load and unload the truck, in just a few minutes and for just a few hundred bucks!  Both crews showed up right on schedule and performed well beyond my expectations. 

Ok, I'm not exactly open for business yet.  California has lots of 'authorities', and each one wants to know who I am, what I do, and where I do it...and of course they each want a modest fee for registering the business.  Then of course, I need to take out all new print ads, buy new business cards, get listed in the local phonebooks (geez, there's like 12 of them!), change all my online ads, rewire the new house for multiple PCs, setup a work space (again)...man, starting over sucks.  :)

-Lee

July 21, 2005:  We are outta here!

Well, it's been a busy few months, and sadly I've neglected the website. It has been said many times that change is the catalyst for business growth, and now new opportunities are calling me back home to the SF Bay Area, in California.  I'm leaving behind many wonderful customers, neighbors, and dear friends (some folks are all of those things).  The Texans I've met in the last 11 years are some of the finest people I've met anywhere in the world.  And having been all over the world already, that's saying something.

Ok, time to pack up the computers for a couple weeks.  I've got a 1400 mile drive starting in 48 hours.  California, here I come...

-Lee

April 17, 2005:  Panda Software Continues to 'WOW' Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Users

Just as we reported nearly two months ago, Panda Software's 2005 Security Product line-up continues to dazzle us with its detection capabilities.  Panda's TruPrevent technology, a heuristic detection engine capable of finding new virus and spyware threats the instant they touch your computer, has now found more than 2 dozen never-before-detected virus and spyware programs roaming the Net in the wild, over the past 3 months.  No other anti-virus or spyware vendor even knew these threats existed, and Panda nailed them as fast as they touched their scanning engine.  Wow...

We've dumped Norton Internet Security (I wouldn't touch McAfee with YOUR 10-foot pole...) here at PillowPC and now use Panda on 100% of our computers.  An interesting side effect of installing Panda's products was an immediate performance increase in our machines.  Panda boasts an ultra-small 'footprint' and uses minimal system resources, which frees up more computer power for your personal use.  I think we all like that.

Panda has 3 products designated for Home & Small Business users (and others directed to Enterprise users).  Because we're so completely in love with Panda Anti-Virus, we've decided to give them a dedicated page on our server.  The side-by-side comparison of Panda Software's Security products can be found here:

http://pandasoftware.pillowpc.com

While we've always recommended a layered approach to PC virus and spyware defense, Panda Titanium and Platinum are the first packages we've tested that appear to be able to handle the job by themselves.  Considering some of the tests we've thrown at our Panda Platinum Security software (it survived the spyware and virus onslaught of the evil CartoonNetwork.com website and their associated advertisers!), that's saying a lot. 

-Lee

March 14, 2005: FTC busts "Anti-Spyware" Vendor for Making False Claims

In a major victory for spyware warriors everywhere, the Federal Trade Commission successfully filed a motion in US District Court to have the makers of Spy Assassin (MaxTheater Inc, based in Washington State) barred from making deceptive claims. The FTC will seek a permanent halt to the marketing scam and refunds (plus damages?) for consumers, as the case progresses.

The makers of Spy Assassin are accused of the following illegal practices:

• Selling an Anti-Spyware product that fails to actually remove spyware to any significant extent
• Offering a 'free spyware scan', which intentionally reported false-positives on the user's computer
• Offering a 'free spyware scan' that did not actually scan a computer
• Using high-pressure marketing tactics, such as "URGENT ERROR ALERT: You have dangerous spyware virus infections on your computer. Click OK to install the latest free update to fix these errors. Immediate action is highly recommended before you continue!", even though no such error existed on the computer.

The full release of the FTC Report can be found here. 

There are about a dozen products similar to Spy Assassin on the market right now, and they all have beautiful slick websites that suck you in with free scans and false results.  They too are being investigated by the FTC.  I'll post that list, once I've finished my own tests.

If you're looking for a truly effective anti-spyware scanner, there are a few highly effective products on the market.  And no, our much loved Spybot and Ad-Aware don't even come close.  The most effective stand-alone anti-spyware tool we've tested continues to be Spy Sweeper from Webroot Software.

And kudos to the FTC!

-Lee

February 24, 2005:  Panda Software Revolutionizes the Anti-Spyware World

This is the most exciting anti-spyware AND anti-virus tool I've seen released in many years.  Panda Software, the makers of the #1 'most effective' anti-virus software in 2004, have released a new 'malware' scanning engine, capable of detecting and removing previously unknown variants of spyware programs and trojans.  And of course, it can detect and remove already-known spyware programs, and perform its world-class anti-virus functions as well.  While we've all seen 'security bundles' in the past, no software company has ever offered up a package this comprehensive or effective until today.

Within the first 48 hours of going live, the new "Genetic Heuristic Engine" dethroned seventy-four of the most vicious viruses on the Internet, and shed light on the far more serious problem of spyware...for the all hype and fear you've ever heard about viruses, the most prevalent viruses of our time no longer appear on the 'most common infection' list, until #75.  Positions 1-74 were entirely occupied by spyware and trojan programs.  Number one on the list was the ISTBar trojan (which is no surprise).  However, several never-before-detected spyware programs were also captured by Panda's new scanner, on thousands of computers.  That is a huge breakthrough!

Panda Software, a relatively small company compared to its competitors (Norton/Symantec and McAfee) appears positioned to attack the spyware problem directly, while the largest anti-virus/security companies have no offering even close to the effectiveness of the new Panda scanner.  According to details on the company's website, all of their current edition anti-virus products have this updated technology available. 

During independent testing, Panda's Anti-Virus scanner was 98% effective (92 of 93 viruses detected) at blocking virus/worm/trojan activity with no virus definition files loaded. Friends, there is no other product on the market that can make a claim like that.  This is revolutionary software, with no equal!  The full independent report is available here.

You'll want to look at the Titanium Edition, if you're mostly interested in anti-virus and anti-spyware uses.  If you want the added features of spam blocking, anti-phishing, and/or web-content filtering functionality, then the Platinum Edition is for you.

Panda also makes a plug-in version of its new scanning tool specifically for use with your existing anti-virus product (Norton, McAfee, etc), called TruPrevent Personal Edition.  TruPrevent can enhance your existing virus scanner, and give it detection and removal capabilities much closer to those of the full-versions of Panda's products...that's a great opportunity for anyone looking to improve their existing anti-virus scanner.

These new offerings from Panda Software come with my most confident recommendation.  This is really amazing stuff, friends.  Choose the appropriate edition above, and buy it.

This is a great day for all of us...I feel all giddy inside.

-Lee

P.S. As I've stated many times, no anti-spyware or anti-virus product is 100% effective (yet).  The Advanced Tools found in our section on spyware can help attack those spyware problems not solved by a good scanning solution.

February 23, 2005: Content Updates

Wow, that was a fast two weeks.  I'm continuing to develop the content of the website. I'm finding the topic of spyware to be so broad and so complicated to explain that I end up writing 10-page dissertations on the subject, only to turn around and delete them.  I'm posting a little teaser for now, but I think I'll need to break it up into several sub-pages.  I'll be loading my recommended products onto those pages, as soon as I complete the testing procedures.

I've added new information to our service offerings, added the work-in-progress information to the spyware section, posted my first cut on the About Us page, added some troubleshooting tips to the Operating Systems page, and fine-tuned the home page just a bit.

There's lots more to come!

-Lee

February 7. 2005:  PillowPC.com is Launched!

Hello!  My name is Lee Pillow and I'm the owner of PillowPC.Com.  While the site is a bit spartan for now, the content and quality of the site will continue to grow.  For now, I've only created pages to show the basic details of our computer services business. I am a 'one-man-show'; all the services on your computer(s), all the writing on this site, and all the consulting for purchases and businesses is done by one person...me.  I believe you'll enjoy having a single point of contact for all your computing needs!

I am passionate about repairing and maintaining computers.  I work very hard to stay up-to-date on all things related to computer troubleshooting and repair, computer upgrades, Windows operating systems, and pretty much everything to do with a typical PC-type computer (including portable computers). 

Putting all that information down on digital paper to share with those who visit this site is another thing entirely. In time, this site will grow quite large, and contain enough information for the typical PC user to maintain their computers with little help from me or any other technician.  You can always call me for a visit, if you need a hand when something just won't work right, or when something unexpected happens to your computer.  I'm here to help!

I believe that computers should act like appliances; tools to make our lives easier.  They should not be a source of excessive grief or frustration.  If this does describe you, then it might be a good time to call me up.

Pinnacle-Services, LTD (as shown in the copyright information at the bottom of each page) is the formal business name of our company (I guess you'd call this website a 'property' of the company). 

Thank you and have a great day!

-Lee Pillow

Owner, PillowPC.com

Contact Information

We'd love to hear from you!  To arrange a service appointment or consultation in the Brentwood CA Area, please call us at the number below. 

Our computer service area includes Brentwood, Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Byron and other cities within 35 miles of Brentwood, CA.

Telephone

925-584-6951

 

Postal address

308 Pebble Beach Dr.  Brentwood, CA 94513