Mac antivirus software - FREE

If you have a Mac and have been forwarding bad things to your PC friends then you may want to get your hands on this:

There's a free antivirus for Mac here...

http://www.iantivirus.com/download/

It explains that it is tuned to specifically address Mac viruses.

Strange that anyone would put so much effort into something that doesn't exist ;-)

But then again...

Freaking me out...

I am easily amused and quite possibly even more easily freaked out.

Last week I found this web site somehow...

http://www.sitepal.com/

As tempting as it WASN'T to create a robot me I have to admit this stuff is pretty clever.

Oh, and it is good for a laugh...briefly. 

Watch how the eyes follow your cursor about the screen.

Hello Mr David, how are you today?

Are you sick of receiving telemarketing and other unsolicited phone calls?

Well you don't need to be any more.

For ages now the Government's Do Not Call register has been up and running.

And most of the time it works pretty well.

Every now and then you get some company ringing you when they shouldn't be. It is quite empowering to be able to let them know they've been bad as opposed to just annoying.

Sign up now, what have you got to lose? Who knows, you may even get a hot dinner every once in a while.

Remember to register all your phones and visit the web site annually. For some reason your registration expires every 1 or 2 years.

Pay now, patch later...

It seems to be a normal state of affairs in computer when you are asking yourself, or someone else, "what the hell is going on?".

With the Internet this has been ramped up more than just a few notches.

One of the bad things the Internet has given us is "Automatic Updates".

There are two types of automatic updates.

The first is where a piece of software already on your computer is able to check for new versions of itself and notify you in some way. Sometimes the updates just show up without any interaction on your behalf at all.

This type of update can, and sooner or alter will, stuff up the program in questions and sometimes your whole computer.

Best familiarize yourself with the System Restore function now I think.

The second automatic update is the type where the software you bought in a box at a store doesn't work when you install it. The first thing you have to do for most software these days is go to the manufacturers web site and download the update.

For me that is automatic these days. I can't recall the last time I bought any software that just worked.

It begs the question "why are their boxes for software in the first place?".

The same is true for your car, your TV, your mobile phone and so on. Most hardware is run by a large amount of software. Who of us hasn't had a problem with a new car only to be told a software update has fixed it? Wow!

We are being forced to get used to a "we'll fix it later" attitude from manufacturers in all sorts of industries just "because they can".

Instead of such fixes being the rarity, convenient, a bonus and something extra to provide customer satisfaction, it is being chosen as the norm' and given us a whole new lower-level of customer service.

That is just weird.

The driver for this attitude is complexity. If we, as consumers, go for simple best-of-breed devices then these problems are, to some degree, avoided. 

When it is clear what something does, as opposed to trying to do everything for everyone, it is easy to test that it works before release to the wide world.

Of course, if you have to have the latest gadget now then you ARE part of the problem :-)

Compute well, backup better, avoid the bleeding edge.

David Moore

Windows XP Still Lives - Virtually

You may not be able to buy Windows XP anymore...very soon...again, but you can still get your hands on a new copy of it.

What?!?!

In Windows 7 you can use virtualisation to run your Windows XP only programs. NB: but not Home premium.


NOTE: If you are ordering a new Dell PC you have the choice of getting XP Virtual Mode installed with the system free of charge, so you don't even have to download it. Here is the tech note FYI.

Virtualisation means that you run a real version of XP on your Windows 7 PC. Click on the image at left to see what it actually looks like. Kinda spooky I think.

Some computers can't do it but you can download a tool that will tell you if your computer can and get the Virtual PC tools and Virtual XP from Microsoft FREE.

It is really very easy to do. There are 5 steps outlined on the above web site and really that is about it. NB: They list 4 steps, but there are really 5-ish.

They also have video tutorials on some of the slightly tricky things like installing a program to a virtual machine and accessing USB devices.

But really, it is easy and important to know for those critical legacy XP applications where the vendors are slow or gone altogether.

Aren't MS nice? Whatever...

More Wireless/Wi-Fi troubleshooting tips

Two things that are common traps with wireless networking are:
 
a)    There is usually a small switch on the laptop, hidden away somewhere, that turns the wifi on and off. Make sure it hasn't accidentally been turned off. This happens a lot and many people don't even know they have a switch.

b)    Make sure you are using exactly the same settings as the source wifi router/wireless-access-point. Near enough isn't good enough.
 
There is lots that can go wrong so here's a link that may help if you can't get a tech there.

You may or may not have heard about the Government's plan to force your Internet provider to put in place a mandatory filter on what you can see.

It is kind of old news now but it keeps rearing its ugly head every now and then when so do-gooder-idiot-politician thinks they understand technology and what people want.

Here The Hungry Beast summarize the problem and present the results of their survey.

Irrespective or your view on censorship and what should/shouldn't be available to you over the web, the fact remains that the Government is not, and never will be, particularly tech-savvy.

They are politicians, not techie people. The Government is good at listening to the wrong people and then throwing money at them.

This is another case. The "Mandatory Internet Filter" is easily bypassed in so many ways as to render it completely useless before it even starts.

Bottom line, it is a waste of money. Nothing more, nothing less.

You may wail about you loss of freedom too, but the thing that hurts most for me is that my hard earned taxes are being wasted...again. Oh the things I could do with that money...my money.  :-(

David

P.S. The flow chart at left is from Crikey and pretty amusing too.

Managing the Email Overload

A common problem for many of us these days seems to be managing the bazillions of emails that we receive and store for future reference.

With Outlook and many email programs they store all emails in their own ever-growing database.

These databases get loaded when you start your email program and can fill your memory and slow your computer to a crawl.

With Outlook you can set up an archive schedule but for some of us the archives themselves then grow to be too large and unwieldy.

This preserves your email folder structure within Outlook by moving old emails to the same folder name and structure but "offline".

Many people I talk to actually go to the effort of duplicating their "My Documents" folder structure in Outlook so they can relate to where things should be.

That is a lot of work, but if you haven't done that yet, then don't. You'll be wasting your time. Let's use the folder structure you've got under "My Documents" to alleviate the pain on your email program.

These days I am suggesting to many clients that they simply drag-and-drop important emails to the corresponding folder under "My Documents". This puts a copy of the email in the folder but outside of the Outlook database.

So now you have that important email from your lawyer in the same folder as the other documents, PDfs and what-not.

There are two great side effects of this;

1) backing up "My Documents" now automatically includes the pertinent emails i.e. you don't have to do anything special to backup emails

2) it allows you to get ruthless with emptying out your Outlook or other email program so it doesn't chew up memory and slow you down.

Of course, you should ask yourself why you are keeping all these emails in the first place? Moving them to a folder helps rationalize what you keep.

Once your emails are at a tiny (read sensible) level you should perform a defrag and compaction of your email program's database...that is a topic for another post though.

David

The scams look more and more real...

Recently I received an email that made me suspicious:

Dear Principal, 
We are a domain name registration and dispute organization in Asia. which mainly deal with the global companies' domain name registration and internet Intellectual property right protection in Asia.
Currently, we have a very important issue needing to confirm with your company. On December 13,2011, we received an application.One company named "FengNin Group Inc" wanted to apply for registering the domain names related to "ihatemypc" and Web Brand through our body.We are dealing with it. After our initial investigation, we found that these domain names and Web Brand applied for registration were as same as your company's web keyword.
I wonder whether you consigned FengNin Group Inc to register these domain names and Web Brand through us?
If yes, we will complete the registration on these domain names and Web Brand. Or you do not even know this company what so ever? I want to confirm whether you are the corporate representative of your company. If you are, I will feedback some problems to you; if you are not, please forward my letter to your company's corporate representative or administor. In order to deal with this issue better, please contact us as soon as possible.
Best Regards
Kevin

I decided to investigate this a little further.

I Googled the FengNin Group and got pretty much no significant result either negatively or positively.

I checked the links provided in the email to the web site of the company that "Kevin" worked for. Strangely they checked out. Kevin's employer had a legitimate looking web site and really seemed to be doing what they say they are.

Theoretically the domain names I have registered for my business are protected by the fact that they are registered through legitimate Australian registrars and web hosts.

However, it still concerned me that some possible third party fraudster could be trying to hijack my domains through an innocent foreign registrar by claiming them as their own i.e. instigating a dispute over the ownership.

Carefully and with some reservation I decided to reply to the email.

I told Kevin that I owned the domains and that I had no relationship with the FengNin group in any way. Any such registrations should not be allowed.

It was Kevin's reply that revealed the true nature of the scam.

Kevin tried to bamboozle me with techno jargon, as he'd already done in his first email, but this time the story changed. This time the story morphed into "protecting related domain names" and how I may want to protect my brand by buying up country specific "IhateMyPC" domains.

He said:

We knew your company have own trademark, this is why we informed you. But now FengNin company wanted to apply for other domain names and Web brand you have not registered yet.
 Following are all the domain names and Web brand which are submitted by FengNin Group Inc:
Domain names:
 ihatemypc.asia   Asia
 ihatemypc.es     Spain
 ihatemypc.eu     Europe
 ihatemypc.fr      France
 ihatemypc.jp     Japan
 ihatemypc.sg    Singapore
 ihatemypc.tw   Taiwan

It was at this point it became very clear that Kevin was trying to scare me into buying domain names that I don't want and don't need.

I was expecting that Kevin may have then suggested I pay for them with my credit card. There was no ficken' way I was giving this guy a credit card number.

The true nature of the ultimate fraud may have been a few layers away but this is where I stopped corresponding with Kevin. I waited for his next move.

Some days later I did receive another email from Kevin:

Dear David,

I have sent you email, but have not received your reply by now. So I want to confirm:
1, Have you decided to give up?
2, Are you in the process of discussion?
3, Do you have any other question?

I look forward to hearing from you！

Regards,
Kevin

Kevin thought he had a dumb one on the hook. Often just being a "real person" and corresponding with people who doesn't understand the terminology is enough to convince people to part with money.

I have to tell you, I was worried enough about replying to his original email, but he already had my email address and I divulged nothing else along the way. Replying to this last email required some extra care and a new degree of assertiveness.

I considered my response to Kevin. This is what I sent:

Kevin,

It is clear to me that you are just trying to scare me into buying domain names.
I have forwarded your details to the relevant authorities and will take legal action if any of the domain names I presently have registered are compromised in any way by your organisation's activities.
No further correspondence will be entered into.

D.Moore

So far Kevin has gone quiet. If he is smart that will be where it ends. If he's dumb or genuine I may get an apologetic "bail-out" from him. I am not holding my breath. Either way I will stand by my word and not reply to him.

So what is the lesson in this?

For me it was that fraud, as expected, is getting harder and harder to distinguish from genuine activities. Kevin's email, the company web site and all the usual suspect things seemed believable, i.e. not necessarily true, but possibly true.

The alarm bells of the "contact out of the blue" still works when trying to spot fraud. That is, if someone contacts you unprompted then caution is advised.

If someone uses language that you don't understand then seek to understand it but don't act on it. Ask an expert and wait. Time is on your side. Act now at your own peril - undoing such actions can be costly and time consuming.

Sooner or later something will look real enough to catch me and/or you out. A personalized believable lie is a very hard thing to ignore. A lie that impacts upon your reputation, business and ability to live your life is even harder to ignore and does deserve some further investigation and shutting down where possible.

I built the first computer I owned...

When I was about 13 or 14 I became obsessed with computers.

Strangely the addiction started with a Texas Instruments calculator which could run a moon landing program.

The user typed in a number, which represented thrust, and the program told you how far from the ground the resulting burn had left you. Exciting stuff.

The TI was owned by my neighbour's Dad. A bit later the same person owned a Tandy TRS80 and his brother owned a System 80, neither of which we were allowed to touch. So when they were out we did.

I loved the Dick Smith System 80. It could do so much and even had a flight simulator.

The flight simulator was a white "t" shape over a black and white grid. On one side there was a zig zag line which indicated mountains. It was rubbish and it was easy to fly off the edge of the world, around and then under it without any ramifications.

Over time my school friends started getting computers. One mate in particular, who's family were rich as far as I was concerned, always had the latest and greatest gadgets. This guy owned a ZX80 and was kind enough to let me borrow it one weekend. Oh the ecstasy.

Pretty soon we'd exhausted the capacity of the 4k ROM and 1k RAM machine. Also fortunately he'd not exhausted his Dad's bank account and soon they had the first Apple II clone PC I'd seen.

It was painted silver and did everything an Apple II did only slightly better and more cheaply.

It wasn't long before Apple waged war on the cloners and their PC market penetration has reflected that decision ever since. Some would say for the better, some wouldn't. Let me be clear, I don't care - it is none of my business :-)

It became clear I had to get my own computer somehow, so I worked and saved and kept my eye out for something that had decent performance within my budget. This eventually came in the form of a kit computer by Dick Smith Electronics called The Super 80. It was less than "super" but it was good enough for me and affordable...but I had to put the thing together myself.

Lucky for me I had an uncle who was a partner in an electrical engineering firm. He gave me a soldering iron, chip sockets (which didn't come with the kit but were "advisable" to use), replaced cheap components with quality ones and much more besides.

It was especially beneficial when, after carefully constructing the machine, nothing happened when power was applied. My uncle was able to diagnose the problem using gear that I could never afford and turn the brick into a functioning computer.

The graphics of the Super 80 were, well, crap. It was character based (tell that to kids these days and they don't know what you mean). It had a few other shortcomings like overheating (despite the special massive heatsinks my uncle supplied) and a particularly unreliable data storage and retrieval system (to/from compact cassettes using any cassette player the user could scrounge).

I considered upgrading the storage to a 1MB, yes you read that correctly, hard-disk but the cost was enormous and back then I would have had to type in all the programs before they could be stored to the drive (and there was no guarantee it would work with my Super 80 anyway).

So when an offer for a tricked up but second hand Apple II Euro+ came into view I sold the Super 80 (I am still amazed someone bought it), put some savings into it and my Dad kicked in some money (well lots actually) and then my brother and I had a great computer to be getting on with.

That Apple IIE+ proved very useful in my computer college work. Our major team project required quite a lot of printing and it all fell on me and my Apple (if I recall correctly we had limits on the use of the college printer).

You know I can't remember what happened to that computer. I must have sold it but I can't recall doing so.

Addendum: The photos here are from when I did work experience at my Uncle's company (JNA it was, later bought by Lucent). My Uncle thought it would be good to show me working at the coal face, moving up to computers and then running the place (at his desk). Look at my hair and those clothes. And people wonder why I am a brownaphobe and scared for life :-)

Yummy Yards - Where Ink Cartridges Are Reborn

Every now and then I find something that makes me feel good about throwing stuff away.

In a strangely satisfying circle my wife and I have purchased some garden beds made from recycled printer ink and toner cartridges.

We looked at making wooden raised garden beds, buying wooden ones but each time we came back to the fact that they'd rot eventually and usually represented the death of an extra tree.

Susan found Yummy Yards at BEST Solutions.

They come flat packed from Victoria. We ordered, paid and they arrived as promised. Always a good start.

If you want some let them know we sent you. They love to get feedback. We've been asked to send through progress shots.

We'll be growing vege's in them, prompted by a show on TV that reckoned, due to the continual reduction in available farming lands, the vegetables of the future will have to be grown in backyards.

The same show also suggested "backyard sharing" so that people who don't have backyards can grow stuff.

Possibly an even smarter solution comes from Replas. They do "Garden Panels". They look like they go together faster than the Yummy Yards ones.

Replas also do more than just garden beds (by a long, long way) and they are recycling more than just toner cartridges.

TechNet Windows 7 Tips from Microsoft...

Copied for your benefit from the MS web site.

Some of this stuff is quite technical so don't try it if:
a) You don't feel confident
b) You don't have backups
c) You don't know how to create and restore a system restore point prior to "playing"

Windows 7 Tips

• Remove Accounts and Deny Local Access to Workstations on Windows 7
  As workstations are moved around, you might find that previous owners still have access to its resources. Here's an easy way to control what systems users have access to.
• Configure a User Account to Log On Automatically on Windows 7
  While it's recommended that you require users to enter credentials when the computer starts, there may be times when it's preferable to have an account log on automatically. Here's how.
• Create and Use Backups Using the Backup and Restore Center
  Windows 7 includes the Backup and Restore Center for creating backups of personal data and entire system images. Find out how to configure backups to protect all your data.
• Use Custom Libraries in Windows 7 to Ensure You Backup All your Data
  Do you store important data files outside your user profile? Here's a simple trick to make sure you always backup your important data.
• Configure Legacy Devices to Run on Windows 7
  The Windows 7 driver store includes a small collection of drivers for legacy devices, but will not automatically set up those devices. Here's what you can do to try and keep your favorite device functioning on Windows 7.
• Use the Powerful and Free Autoruns Tool to Take Charge of Startup Apps
  Autoruns is arguably the most powerful and complete utility for managing programs and services that run automatically at startup or logon. Find out what it can do for you.
• Use a Command-Line Utility to convert a FAT32 Disk to NTFS
  An overview of the easiest way to convert a FAT or FAT32 disk to NTFS.
• Use the Driverquery Command to Take Inventory of Installed Drivers
  If you want a compact record of installed drivers in a format that you can review later, use the Driverquery command.
• Repair the MBR to restore Windows 7 to your Multiboot Options
  You installed Windows XP on a system already running Windows 7, and now Windows 7 is no longer on the boot menu. Find out how to fix the MBR and get Windows 7 back.
• Understand Compatibility Issues and why some Apps Fail on Windows 7
  Before you deploy Windows 7, you should understand how some applications may break on the new OS. Then you'll be prepared to choose the best solution to fix your broken app.
• Get to Know Robocopy for More Powerful File Management
  Dragging files between folders is fine, but when it comes to heavy-duty file management you need a better tool. If you need more power and flexibility, it's time you get to know Robocopy.
• Use Local Security Policy to customize UAC behavior
  FInd out how you can use Local Security Policies in Windows 7 to modify the behavior of User Account Control.
• Use Natural Language to Search your Windows 7 System
  Not big into Boolean? You can use Natural Language to perform some pretty complex searches using Windows Search. But first you'll have to turn on Natural Language support.
• Know What's New for Security in Windows 7
  Windows 7 includes some important improvements for securing the desktop. Here's a quick overview.
• Remove Personal metadata from Files to Protect Your Privacy
  Metadata stored within a file can reveal a lot of information. Fortunately, Windows 7 lets you scrub data from files to protect your privacy.
• Navigate Windows Explorer More Quickly with These Keyboard Shortcuts
  Learn some keyboard shortcuts designed to help you navigate Windows Explorer more easily.
• Assign a Program or Process to a Specific CPU running on Windows 7
  On systems with multiple processors or multiple cores, Windows 7 lets you specify which CPU should handle a particular process.
• Understand and Control Startup Apps with the System Configuration Utility
  If you don't require a program at startup, it's a good idea to get it out of your startup path. Here are some pointers.
• Remove a program from the Recommended Programs on the Open With dialog
  This simple Registry edit lets you control what applications are included on the Recommended Programs list.
• Dig Deep into your system with Dedicated System Information Tools in Windows 7
  Windows 7 includes some handy tools for digging deep into the details of the systems you manage. Learn about three tools of the trade every IT pro should know.
• Use Windows Firewall on Different Networks
  The firewall in Windows 7 maintains different network location types for different networks. Here's what you should know about using these profiles to protect your system on different networks.
• How to Restore Data to Windows 7 that you Backed Up on Windows XP
  Windows 7 cannot open or restore files backed up in the format used by Windows XP Backup. But your data isn't lost. Here's a look at restoring from older backups.
• Configure Your Windows 7 System to Run Legacy Apps in a Virtualized Windows XP Environment
  Windows XP Mode is an optional download for Windows 7 that lets you run applications that might not run well on Windows 7. Here's all you need to know to get started.

• Install Windows 7 alongside an older Windows OS for a Multiboot System Want to install Windows 7 on a system, but leave the previous Windows installation in place? Follow these easy steps.

P.S. I only just realised her dress is a "7" and so are the boxes behind her. I wonder why?

Pretty Wallpaper & Digital Photo Tips

Here are 40 Striking Photography Wallpapers are available from National Geographic .

You may need to wait a while for the page to load as it has been quite popular.

Which raises an interesting question. Just how much resolution do you need for desktop wallpapers?
How many Megapixels translate to hi-res images?

Firstly, what is too much resolution for happy snaps?

For day to day shots I am shooting at 3 Mega Pixels (and get 1.37MB image/JPEG files as a result).

This is less than the cameras 5 megapixel maximum but it is more than enough for everything I've wanted to do with photos to date.

I get brilliant images which fill the screen of my 24" desktop monitor (with some hanging over the edge i.e. they are still too big).

So unless you are shooting for posters, professional publishing or larger printouts still, you are wasting your disk space and time by shooting photos at high resolution.

You'll only have to shrink them to email them anyway (I still have to at this resolution).

As a bonus tip, if you are having problems shrinking and emailing your photos, particularly with web mail, I've found a couple of great tools that do this for you. Read all about them here among my Flying Solo contributions...

SETI, not Yeti...

I've mentioned my SETI@home alien hunting before in newsletters.

It is a proper scientific search for evidence of extraterrestrial life using radio telescopes made famous by Jodie Foster in Contact.

I've been on it for many, many years and not found so much as a whiff of a little grey person.

I did discover, by reviewing my personal statistics, that the average user has processed 685 work units (packets of data SETI send us to crunch and send back). I have processed...drum roll please...165,000!

You'll notice I am taking credit for so much that has nothing to do with me. So please don't applaud.

Mactini -The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special.

Mactini -The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special.
Pretty accurate but his black shirt needs more polo in the neck :-)

YouTube - Mactini -The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special - BBC Two-CosmoPod.mp4

www.youtube.com

From The Peter Serafinowicz Show Xmas Special - Dec 23rd at 10:55 on BBC2!

iToilet - The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special

iToilet - The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special

iPlop, we all do. It will supplant the iPhone as the device everyone has to have.

YouTube - iToilet - The Peter Serafinowicz Show Christmas Special - BBC Two-CosmoPod.mp4

www.youtube.com

The iToilet from the Peter Serafinowicz Show Xmas Special - 10:55 Dec 23rd on BBC2!

Microsoft Office - is it there or not?

I've noticed that many of my clients get stuck thinking they've bought Microsoft Office when actually all they've been given is the 60 day trial pre-installed.

The store monkeys tell you that Office is on the computer, which it is, without elaborating on the fact that it will stop working in 60 days (or whatever) and cost you more to when you have to purchase a license key.

If this happens to you, you can buy activation keys online from Microsoft themselves.

This is the cheapest and fastest way to make office work (again).

Of course, make sure you buy the right product suite for your needs. Many people buy the cheapest thing they see only to find out that what they really wanted, Outlook and/or Powerpoint, are missing.

 
Make sure you know exactly which programs from the suite they use e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel as this will change the pricing and the package you have to buy.
 

If you aren't sure err on the side of caution and get a key for more rather than less.
Another of our clients has had the opposite problem.

They been sold an MS Office Licence, given the key, but no disks and no software installed on the computer.

This leaves you to download about about 900MB of program from Microsoft. This can take a long time to do and, if it fails, require some retries before you are successful.

If a computer vendor supplies you with MS Office have them put it on the machine for you AND activate it! Better still, make sure they give you the disks they used!

NOTE: MS Office now comes in a "free" version with reduced functionality and with the inclusion of advertising. If you can live with this and don't need Outlook, then this is not a bad way to go. It is certainly worth trying this option out before spending money on licenses.

30 Tips for using social media

If you are into it, my mate Matt Gain has 30 tips for using social media.

There ain't no such thing as "best practice"

Recently I was in a business meeting and the term "best practice" came up.

It wafted across the table and went straight up my nose.

The meeting was nearly over and I'd made a big enough menace of myself that day to launch into my tirade on "best practice", so I'll let you hear it now. It will change the way you think.

Read the rest of the article in my BLOG for Australian Anthill online...

Funny things...

During a recent password audit, it was found that a person was using the following password:

"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento"

When asked why such a long password, the person said they were told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.

Thanks to Matthew Sunn for that one.

A bunch of tips worth hearing again...

Have you run the windows malicious software removal tool? - Mrt.exe

 

Here's the techy way to do it...

http://www.pchell.com/virus/malicioussoftwareremovaltool.shtml

 

And an easier way to do it...

1. Connect Internet Explorer to the Malicious Software Removal Tool page.
2. Click the Check My PC For Infection button.
3. In the resulting Microsoft End-User License Agreement dialog box, read the license agreement, select the I Agree button, and then click Continue.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up the tool.
5. Wait while the scan runs in the background.
6. Review the report once the scan is complete.

Passwords, so you think you are fine...

So you think your password is pretty clever and unique?
Pop along here and see just how predictable and exposed you are.
Thanks to Mark Wayland of The Last 3 Feet for this link.

How to connect to hidden wireless networks

Have you ever had trouble connecting to a wireless network only to find out is is "hidden"? Networks are hidden for security purposes. You have to know in advance their name and how to connect to them. This makes it harder for hackers to lob onto private networks and start hacking. Here's a nice tutorial on how to do it. It has pictures.

When a disk isn't a disk

I've noticed the phrase "boot disks" used in relation to USB thumb drives and Solid State Drives.You may have read other articles pointing out that USB and SSD devices aren't actually disks at all. Sometimes it is claimed they don't have any moving parts (but I'll leave that argument alone for the time being). Actually, they aren't even "drives".

So how can a thing that isn't a disk be a boot disk?

I wish I hadn't opened my mouth now thinking about it.

Well, they are being used in the context were older disk-based technology were once used.

The terminology is being mixed up horribly as technology evolves and we cling on to what we know.

I'm sure someone will come up with a new buzz-word for non-disk non-drive bootable device real soon (if they haven't already).

NB: I thought of NDNDBD or ND^2BD but that acronym is twice as long as any computer person is capable of remembering.

Aunty David - PC Agony Aunt and Weirdo

Recently my Aunty David got in touch with me to tell me what a load of rubbish my blog was.

Of course I appreciated her feedback and told her that if she though she could do better then go ahead.

You don't have to probe the genetics too deeply to realise that she is incapable of shutting up too. So here's what she has to say about all manner of rubbish.

P.S. If I was you I wouldn't take any of her advice literally. I have to publish it because she threatened to "Rip my bloody RAM out" if I didn't. 

I don't even know what that means?

Aunty David on cleaning your PC

I have just three words for you vin-e-gar. If you read the gumf you got with you doova you'll see that you have to clean it but you aren't allowed to use anything even slightly affective to do so.

If there's anything I've learnt from 35 years of Women's Weekly reader's tips is that vin-e-gar will do anything and clean anything. Pour  it liberally over your keyboard, invert the keyboard so that it runs out and then spin it over your head to remove any traces left behind. Don't worry about the walls. All wars have casualties.

Vin-e-gar won't froth out of the bottle unless you add some baking soda. So do that and shoot the resulting mix onto your screen like Mark Webber's champagne at his last F1 victory.

Oh I love Mark Webber. He's such a spunk. Don't you think he looks like Superman? Oh God, that chin gets me excited.

Wipe down the screen with some sand paper. Believe me that is the only way you'll get that crap off it now.

Don't worry about the smell either. It will go away after a few months and in the meantime it will keep your sinuses on their toes. Do sinuses have toes? That would be a bit weird but would explain why everying I cook tastes like feet.

Anyway kids, if that hasn't helped you look at my great legs there to the right. I am single strangely enough and on the prowl. Treat my nephew well and give him a big kiss for me when you see him next.

Love, Aunty David

Sonia Says...cool keyboard shortcuts & Outlook appointment handling

After doing some surfing on trusty old Google, I realized that its quite a common gripe, and so readers might be interested in it.

It all started when David sent me David's contact details. It came as an attachment called 'winmail.dat', which when I tried to open gave me the message "this is embedded mapi 1.0 blah blah ... Not supported"

Knowing that David uses outlook, I gathered it was an outlook generated attachment, and therefore I could boot up in windows 7 (in which I have a trail of outlook) and be able to read it, but I was curious to see how people without outlook would open it.

It turns out, there are a few third party programs that you can download to use to open these attachments (which reportedly can contain even things like word docs, excel, outlook contact- even if the receiver of the email has excel and word on their computer it will not open).

The most referenced program was called "tnef enough" - only for mac though.

Delving into the help section from outlook, I found reference to this issue. It stated that outlook uses should be aware that when sending to a recipient that does not use outlook, they should not send the mail as 'rich text', and that this would solve the recipients receiving mail with the mysterious 'winmail.dat' as an attachment.

I decided not to download any of the programs out there that would read it for me, but instead booted up into 7, opened outlook and read the attachment no problem - felt like I had learnt something along the way too. Perhaps outlook users would be happy to learn there is a ridiculously simple fix for this.

As far as keyboard tips go....these are a few I know. I am sure you know them all already.

Windows logo key + E brings up my computer
Windows logo key + L logs off computer
Windows logo key + D minimizes all windows and displays desktop. Press again to return
Windows logo key + F brings up search dialog box
Windows logo key + pause/break brings up SYSTEM properties
Windows logo key + U ease of access center
Windows logo key + R (my favorite) run dialog.

For vista uses who will most likely need therapy from being bullied by the UAC (user account control, that guy that always asks for your authorisation to do something):
CTRL + SHIFT+ENTER  from the run dialog box will run in admin mode
ALT+ C  for confirmation with UAC prompt

Shift+ right click on a document will give additional choices

For Internet explorer: CTRL + Q  view quick tabs

Sonia Maroun

Modem Schmodem

This one is a little techy, so don't try it on your own if you don't understand what I am saying (there's no real way to simplify it any more than it already is).

These days pretty much all networking gear like modems and wireless access points are managed through a built in web page. You get to the page using the devices Internet Protocol or IP address.

However, this address is not always obvious or even accessible. Usually you can work it out by checking the IP Address of your computer and plugging the Default Gateway IP address into your web browser.

If that doesn't work though, guessing it could take you the rest of your life. You need to Google for something like " default IP address", look in the manual (Dog forbid we should open a manual) or call tech support for that product.

Often fixes like this are not documented in the manual anywhere.

For example, a recent issue with a D-Link Wireless access point could have been resolved easily if D-Link had just put the sentence "The adaptors network address is 192.168.0.50" in the manual somewhere. But they didn't.

Once we've got that number we have something we can work with and start to address whatever issue the device has.

If you still can't get any joy consider performing a factory reset on the device and trying again. This will necessitate setting the thing up from scratch like it was new, but hey, it wasn't working anyway right?

Q: I've lost my Recovery Discs or didn't have any in the box when I purchased my computer

Most new computers are no longer delivered with recovery disks for your operating system. This is because your recovery media is now built into a hidden partition on your Hard Disk Drive.

It is also because the manufacturers are lazy and want you to burn the recovery disks instead of them. It saves them a few bucks.

If you need to reload your computer you can buy a whole new operating system e.g. Windows 7, but you may find issues with everything working "out of the box" and need to download drivers etc.
It is also not cheap.

Most manufacturers will actually ship you the disks you need for a fraction of the cost of buying the software from Microsoft or Apple.

For example, you can ring Toshiba with your laptop's serial number and the quote them your Windows license code (on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop) and get replacement disks for about $66. These will put your laptop back to the way it was when you bought it...mostly :-)

Sometimes you can create your own recovery disks by following a procedure like this:
NOTE: If you have been using your computer for a while it may not work.
NOTE2: Use DVDs and not CDs otherwise you'll be doing it for a long time and use lots of disks
NOTE3: Most vendors only let you do this procedure once so make sure you do it carefully and have everything you need, like blanks DVDs, to hand before you start.

1. Click Start

2. Select All Programs

3. Select Recovery Disc Creator.

4. Within the Recovery Disc Creator select Create

5. When prompted enter the first blank DVD and select Ok

6. When prompted enter the second blank DVD and select Ok etc.

Of course, if all else fails you could buy yourself a copy of Windows but that may not work on your old computer and if it did you'd need to manually download all the updated drivers for it from the manufacturer (if they were kind enough to provide them).

Lastly, you could give up and load it with a free operating system like Ubuntu instead (but that is a whole other story). :-)

David

Google Sketch-Up

A while back an interesting article came across my desk.

It was about 7 top tips for using Google Sketch-Up. What? I'd not even heard of it. Well, it wasn't on my radar anyway. I regularly patrol the Google "Even More" button for shiny new things but it is not listed there.

It caught my eye because I thought some of our customers may find it useful.

For example, a building company may use it to create virtual buildings to show their clients and put them on Google Earth (privacy pending of course;-).
I'll let the article itself take you through some of the cool things you can do with Sketch-Up.

It seems you can create almost any object in 3D. So you can create a chair and put it in the 3D house JWC have made for you. You can download a library a large number of objects already created for your convenience.

You can have fun with it too. The kids can create a level for the game Left 4 Dead and then play it!

If you feel so inclined you can even create photo realistic rendered images though these often require plug-ins from third party vendors at vastly variable cost.

I don't know about you but I'm thinking of creating "the" UFO photo that proves the existence of the little grey guys. Don't laugh. Can you tell what is real or not anymore? It is almost a problem. Seeing used to be believing. This has not been the case for longer than I can remember.

If all this sounds ominous Sketch-Up have numerous online video tutorials that take you through the basics and beyond.

Perhaps this would be a nice rainy day project? Just don't do it during a storm OK?

Credits for the above images can be found inline online with the article.

You can download Sketch-Up free for Mac and PC from here.

Be warned:

1) To get good results you'll need to invest some learning time. I had a go at the first trick. I tried to make my house 3D. While I got immediate results I wouldn't be prepared to show anyone just yet. It is not a substitute for talent and a bit or work.

2) There is a paid version with greater functionality available. Play with the free one first and see if it suits your needs.

3) In case you are interested here is a comprehensive list of Google tools. Warned? well, there's a lot of stuff and you may lose large slabs of your life playing with them.

David

I had cause to revisit this today :-)

An oldie but a goodie...

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/better-the-broken-windows-than-life-with-the-mac-monks-20091103-huew.html

"... I don't care if Mac stuff is better. I don't care if Mac stuff is cool. I don't care if every Mac product comes equipped with a magic button on the side that causes it to piddle gold coins and resurrect the dead and make holographic unicorns dance inside your head..."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/better-the-broken-windows-than-life-with-the-mac-monks-20091103-huew.html#ixzz1fYYpI2UR

Refurbishing your computer...

This is a non-exhaustive guide on what you need to prepare if you are having your computers taken away and refurbished.

This will normally involve:

a)    Checking memory and current performance, hard disk space etc.
b)    Advising on whether each machine is worth refurbishing and if so...
c)    Formatting the hard disk
d)    Reloading the operating system from scratch
e)    Reloading any essential applications eg. MS Office, Anti-MALware, Printer drivers, etc.

f)    Downloading and installing all updates and service packs 

g)    Restoring backed up data where possible and/or desirable NB: data only, not image

This means that anything you wish to keep from those laptops should be copied to somewhere else for safe keeping.

The above procedure WILL completely erase/destroy all data on those copmputers.
This is necessary to regain the "as new" performance of the machine.

If you still want this procedure to go ahead you then need to:

1)    Make sure all important data is already off them and stored safely somewhere else

2)    The CDs and DVDs that came with each computer be located and given to me with each machine
 

     a.    This will include system recovery disks

     b.    ...application disks (such as MS Office)
     c.    ...possibly Windows XP/Vista install or upgrade disks etc.

3)    Licence keys, numbers etc. for all machines and software be provided. These are usually on the machine itself and/or the packets that the licensed software came in BUT please check. 

We can't install without the right disks AND applicable licence keys

 
4)    Power adaptors/transformers for each laptop be provided and clearly identified as to which machine they belong (if you know). Getting this wrong can be fatal to the laptop so don't "plug them in and try" if you aren't sure.

Then we can get down to it. :-)
David