Computers and Networking for Home Owners
& Small Businesses
& Small Businesses
written by Sid Plait
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Computers and Networking for the Home Owner and Small Businesses - by Sid Plait
Reinstalling XP? Watch out for IE8!!
OK! So your hard drive died, Windows got corrupted (don't ask me how - it just happens), or you want your computer to run as fast as it did when you bought it. You've decided to install Windows XP from scratch and reinstall all your programs and data. What should you watch out for?
Well, first of all, as I said here, you really should go out and buy a new hard drive to land your new installation onto. (Yeah, I know I just ended a sentence in a preposition. So what are you looking at ME for? I'm just a stickler for correct use of the English language and I went and did that. Leave me alone and read the rest of this article. OK??) If you want ME to do the work, you'll HAVE to buy a new drive.
How this works is you install the new drive so that it is C:\, or the main drive. Your old drive is off to the side (not inside the PC), so you don't accidentally write over it. Then you install XP. For those of you doing this, you are truly brave and adventurous.
Anyway, once that installation is done, you'll want to install all your drivers, so everything works properly. Now, it's time to download and install all your Windows Updates. Now, you must BE MORE CAREFUL than any other time in this process.
Run Windows Update (WU). If you click the Start button, it will be on the right side above the dividing line near the top if you have the regular Windows Start Menu view set up. You will need to run WU several times.
Each time you run WU, chose the Custom button. When the list of updates comes up, scan the list for Internet Explorer 8. When you see it, UNCHECK the box to the left of it. DO NOT install it until there are no other updates to install. Install all the other updates, including the optional ones and all associated with your hardware EXCEPT any video updates.
If you install IE8 before all others are done, it can cause all kinds of trouble and not work properly. Why Microsoft hasn't fixed this problem, I don't know.
There are still plenty more things to do during this process, including installing your old drive as the D:\ drive inside the computer when you are ready to move your data to the C:\ drive. You can then copy (don't move the data) it all onto the C:\ drive wherever it needs to go.
Oh, yeah. If you are doing all this on a laptop, you won't be able to install the old drive inside the machine, so you'll have to go out and purchase an external drive enclosure (make sure it's for a 2.5" drive and is EIDE (IDE) or SATA, depending on the drive type). You can hook it up to the laptop when you need to via USB, Firewire, or eSATA when you want to move your data.
Here's hoping your installation goes well.
Have a great day - view this wonderful video!
I got this link about a year ago from MBH (my better half), who received it from my mother (who knows where SHE got it). So I am terribly remiss in not putting it out here for my readers to enjoy. I saw it on the Kim Komando site (kimtv.com), and it's well worth the 6:18 of your life to watch. Heck, it's worth the 50.4 minutes I've already put into it, plus the time I will spend writing this post, plus the five more times (at least) I will watch it myself just this year.
here
The name of the group is Perpetuum Jazzile, and they are out of Slovenia (look it up - I'm not here to spoon feed you everything!). You can read more about them here . The piece is Africa, written and committed to the album Toto IV by the band Toto in 1982. The song hit #1 in 1983. It's still an amazing piece of work.
So, the original song is done with voice, drums, guitar, and at least two different synthesizers. Along comes Perpetuum Jazzile, and they do it a cappella. A CAPPELLA!! It's wonderful!
Pay close attention to the first minute or two of the video. Also, watch and listen closely whenever they give you a closeup of the "drummer". I love music, and as I've said elsewhere in this blog, I truly love musical genius. This is one example of why, to me, those who are truly gifted as artists and share their talent with us are to be raised up high. They spread something important in this world.
So, I give you Perpetuum Jazzile, and their rendition of Africa. Turn your speakers up. The intro is very soft. For a reason.
Announcement of a new service from Plait Solutions - PC Minder™!!
If you have a home computer with your financial data and website logins, if you are a small business person with a computer you can't afford to have down for any period of time, or if you're just scared of all the nasties out on the 'Net that damage, destroy, or steal your information, have I got a product you need! Announcing:
PC Minder™ *
PC Minder™ is software that runs in the background of your Windows machine that monitors your security software and Windows Updates(tm). If either is running behind for whatever reason, I get an email letting me know. It also gives me remote access to the PC so I can fix the issue remotely, if possible. This saves you time and money over a visit to your facility or home.
In the corporate world, this is called Managed Services and has been available for many years. Now, prices have come down far enough for this service to be available to smaller markets at an affordable price.
PC Minder™ will bring you peace of mind!
I will publish more information as time goes on.
* - Be aware thatPC Minder™is only available in the North Atlanta (GA, USA) area for now. I will be expanding the area as I find other consultants willing to take on the on-site calls in those areas.
A HUGE Deal!
I am long overdue in making this announcement:
MLB (my little brother) is debuting the pilot of a three-episode show called, “Phil Plait’s Bad Universe” on the Discovery channel this Sunday at 10PM ET!
You can go here for the original preview, then here for the subsequent one.
The pilot is about asteroids striking our planet and what we can really do about it. He includes research about the level of destruction as well as how we might (realistically) repel, divert, or annihilate the intruder. However, annihilation won’t really do the trick, and he tells you why.
This show is part of the fallout from his writing a book a couple of years ago called:
If you wish to go to his regular site, he inhabits this space (pun intended).
I can’t wait!!
Windows Users - Don't Download System Security 2009!
In a post here, I talked about the email going around asking you to "keep your anti-virus software up to date" by clicking a link. There are a couple of new twists to how this malware product shows itself that you need to be aware of.
First of all, be aware that the purpose of this pop up is to not only install the malware on your computer, but also to get your credit card and other personal information. If, in the screen as shown below, you click the "Get full time protection with System Security" button, it will take you to a screen that will ask for payment. IF YOU GAVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD information:
- stop what you are doing immediately
- call the phone number on the back of the card you used
- tell them what happened
- ask them to deny any charges that come in after the date and time you made that charge
- get them to cancel that card and issue you a new one
This is a good procedure to follow anytime you think someone unscrupulous has your financial information. You should also check your credit reports on a regular basis to make sure all the accounts listed are correct and that no one else has opened an account in your name.
So, System Security 2009 now comes in a convenient pop-up form! However, the name changes frequently, so I have provided a screen shot of its current iteration. It will pop up on your screen without warning. If you want to search for more info on this, Google "Trojan.Poison.J", the first item in the screen shot.
First of all, the main popup screen will look like this:
If you see this screen, click the red "X" in the upper right-hand corner to get rid of it. As long as you do that, and do not click anything else in the window, you should be OK.
If it's too late, meaning you clicked something other than the red "X", then you will need to remove the infection. Not doing so immediately will cause you more stress than anyone needs. If you feel you don't have the expertise to follow these steps, please, call a professional! You may also be able to find an automated tool online that will remove this infection. Click here to go to a Google page listing a number of removal tools. (I have chosen not to link to any of them because links change. If you see a reference to a tool from someone you know and trust (e.g., Norton, ESET, Kaspersky, McAfee, etc.), use it.
So, here's what you do if this vile piece of malware is inhabiting your PC (read this through carefully before starting the work):
Removing System Security 2009 manually******:
1. Boot into Safe Mode.
2. Browse to and remove the following files:
- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\00308937*\pc00308937ins*
- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\00308937*\00308937.exe*
- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\00308937*\config.udb
- C:\Documents and Settings\{your username directory}**\Desktop\System Security 2009.lnk
- C:\Documents and Settings\{your username directory}**\Start Menu\Programs\System Security\System Security 2009 Support.lnk
- C:\Documents and Settings\{your username directory}**\Start Menu\Programs\System Security\System Security 2009.lnk
* - The number in this command (00308937) may not be the actual number you see in the directory. If so, replace that number with the one in the directory.
** - replace "{your username directory)" with the name of the user's folder under Documents and Settings. For example, my username is "Sid", so the path to the System Security 2009.lnk file would be:
C:\Documents and Settings\Sid\Desktop\System Security 2009.lnk
3. Delete the following registry entries:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\00308937*
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “00308937″*
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\SystemSecurity2009
* - The number in these registry entries (00308937) may not be the actual number you see in the directory. If so, replace that number with the one in the directory (the same one you used in the previous step).
****** - Manual removal of System Security 2009 is a dangerous task if you aren't familiar with the registry. If you remove the wrong keys, you could cause your computer to stop working. While it has worked in every case for me so far, the malware may reappear. I suggest you either use an automated tool or call a professional to remove it.
Good luck! Hopefully, you will never have to deal with this!
URGENT - Windows PC owners - take immediate heed!! (Mac owners - go back to having fun.)
Two cautionary tales for you that require IMMEDIATE attention:
Firstly - There is a worm (malware) that has infected many computers on the Internet and will activate itself on 1 April (and, no, this isn't a joke) called Conficker.C. Read more about it here and get a free tool to remove it here. If you don't do this, you are looking for trouble on the 1st. Read the article, run the removal tool. If you don't think you have it, run the tool anyway. You are much better off safe than sorry.
Secondly - Botnets are bad news. They are trojan horses that get on your system without you knowing it and they send whatever you do on your computer to someone you don't want to share the information with and you don't want to know (i.e., bad people). This article, posted on the MSNBC site, gives unsettling information about the breadth of this problem. BE AWARE, you may be infected and not know it.
HOW TO DO YOUR VERY BEST TO MAKE SURE YOUR DATA IS PRIVATE (besides never getting on the Internet):
Make sure your Internet security software is up to date and that your system has been scanned lately. (If you only have anti-virus software, you probably aren't protected. Get a full Internet security package.*) If you have even the slightest concern (and you should always have plenty of it, especially if you do any online banking, stock trading, purchasing of online goods, or log into ANY site whatsoever - which means YOU!), use a free online scanner to check out your PC. While online scanners typically do not remove harmful stuff from your computer, they at least alert you to problems not picked up by your security software. Remember (or KNOW if no one has told you this before), when malware gets loaded on your computer, the first thing it does is disable your security software from being able to detect the bad stuff. As a result, it is a good idea to perform an online scan every once in a while just to make sure everything's copasetic.
In my next post, I will discuss which Internet security product I suggest and why.
Thirdly - have you noticed how so many people use transition words (such as "firstly", "secondly", and more) incorrectly? I see so many news articles and hear many people just say "first" or "second". Poor English! (Another pet peeve of mine and the subject of another post. Oh, yeah, and MBH, be aware that I know that there are one or two things I say incorrectly. I am trying to be more cognizant of them.)
Lastly - "Be carful out there!"
________________________
* - A full Internet security package consists of a number of protection features, including anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-phishing, anti-adware, possibly some other antis, and definitely a firewall. Some include parental controls to keep kids from accidentally or intentionally going to bad places on the Internet. Internet security packages are all updated constantly trying to keep up with the bad guys out there.
There are computer people out there that feel you should buy or download free copies of the individual aspects of Internet security products. Having worked with homeowners and small businesses for years, I know they will not keep up with individual products, because it takes lots of time. So use a whole package.
Jott it down over the phone
A couple of months ago, someone mentioned a site on the web that allows anyone to send messages anywhere through their telephone. That sounds pretty mundane, but there's more to it than it sounds.
I looked up Jott, and saw that I had a need for one of their services, Jott Assistant. Basically, it allows me to call a specific phone number, where I can leave a voice message that is transcribed to text and sent as an email to my mailbox. When I am on the road and a client calls wanting to set up an appointment, I can speed dial Jott and leave myself a message to make sure the appointment gets on my calendar as soon as I stop somewhere. When things are moving fast, I worry about forgetting to post an appointment and leaving a client waiting at home for me when I am not coming. With Jott, I don't have to worry about it.
The service is extremely simple to use, and is very inexpensive. There are two more services they offer with nice features. Check it out for yourself, and spread the word. Our roads are dangerous enough as it is. If we can avoid texting and writing notes while driving, maybe I will live a bit longer (and you, too)!
With Skype you get egg roll (or Spider, Rainbow, or California Roll)
I began a new chapter (or maybe continued an old one) in my life the other day, and technology made it all possible.
MBF (my best friend, other then my MBH - my better half) and I have known each other since 1986, when we both worked for (shudder) BellSouth in a startup technology group. As I tell people, much to their disbelief, it was an entrepreneurial organization within a Bell Telephone company. Whoda thunk?
Anyway, Peter and I became good friends over the years, and we developed a love for good sushi restaurants in Atlanta. We would meet once a month or so at Nakato on Cheshire Bridge Road and sit at the sushi bar and drink sake and eat (mostly) raw fish and seaweed and rice. We developed a love for Ama Ebi, or sweet shrimp. It is the only shrimp served raw (in the US, anyway), and they tempura the heads (tentacles and eyes and everything) and serve them.
MBF (my best friend, other then my MBH - my better half) and I have known each other since 1986, when we both worked for (shudder) BellSouth in a startup technology group. As I tell people, much to their disbelief, it was an entrepreneurial organization within a Bell Telephone company. Whoda thunk?
Anyway, Peter and I became good friends over the years, and we developed a love for good sushi restaurants in Atlanta. We would meet once a month or so at Nakato on Cheshire Bridge Road and sit at the sushi bar and drink sake and eat (mostly) raw fish and seaweed and rice. We developed a love for Ama Ebi, or sweet shrimp. It is the only shrimp served raw (in the US, anyway), and they tempura the heads (tentacles and eyes and everything) and serve them.
I also favor seaweed salad and Spider Rolls (tempuraed soft-shell crab meat in a wonderful roll, served warm). Mmmmmmmmmm!!
After Peter and HIS BH (Melissa) moved to Asheville, NC, it became our custom to go out for sushi together every time either of us was in the other's town. It has been fun, but the visits have been fewer and farther between over the years than when we inhabited the same city.
So about two months ago, Peter suggested we both get Hue web cams and, every so often, "get together" over the Internet and have sushi! Well, last Monday, we did that very thing.
I went to a sushi place near my home that has a terrific sushi bar (Osaka, for those of you in the area - their food is great!) and picked up a Dragon Roll and some nigiri, wasabi, and ginger, and called Peter over Skype* at the promised time. The only things missing were the warm sake (I will rectify that next time by buying a bottle and keeping it at home), being able to hug each other, and having the sushi chef to thank before ringing off. (I still leave a tip.)
So, we have modified an old tradition of ours using technology so that we can partake of specially prepared fish more often. It isn't exactly the same, but it's better than waiting until we can be in the same city. I am going to suggest to him that we do it again next Monday.
After Peter and HIS BH (Melissa) moved to Asheville, NC, it became our custom to go out for sushi together every time either of us was in the other's town. It has been fun, but the visits have been fewer and farther between over the years than when we inhabited the same city.
So about two months ago, Peter suggested we both get Hue web cams and, every so often, "get together" over the Internet and have sushi! Well, last Monday, we did that very thing.
I went to a sushi place near my home that has a terrific sushi bar (Osaka, for those of you in the area - their food is great!) and picked up a Dragon Roll and some nigiri, wasabi, and ginger, and called Peter over Skype* at the promised time. The only things missing were the warm sake (I will rectify that next time by buying a bottle and keeping it at home), being able to hug each other, and having the sushi chef to thank before ringing off. (I still leave a tip.)
So, we have modified an old tradition of ours using technology so that we can partake of specially prepared fish more often. It isn't exactly the same, but it's better than waiting until we can be in the same city. I am going to suggest to him that we do it again next Monday.
How have YOU used technology in a unique, weird, or otherwise unsane way that is legal?
* - There are other video telephony services on the web. If you are planning to use one, just Google (or click this link) "free web video telephone services".
Social Networking is NOT for the unthinking!
For some, social networking is out of control. There are people out there twittering their entire lives away without thought to what they are saying or doing. (Is that why they are called "twits"?) If you read the comic strip Doonesbury over the past several weeks, you saw a parody of a "journalist" tweeting his stories. It is a sad commentary on how some people use that service. (Click the link for the first strip in the series. This one is the second in the series and sets up the character, in case you don't know who Roland Hedley is.)
I stay away from Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, mostly because I just don't have time to get lost in them, as so many do. There are huge risks to using those networks, and I don't like to risk my privacy. (BTW - the history of each of these sites and others can be found on the Wikipedia site.)
Kids give up enough information for bad people to figure out their online passwords (and sometimes even their parents' passwords). I don't need to know your birthday or your dog's name. Oh, and by the way, that is exactly the kind of info many people use for their passwords. Worse yet, I don't need to know your best friend's birth date or dog's name. You might be giving away SOMEONE ELSE'S passwords!!
Some people even share what they ate for breakfast and how many times they went to the bathroom today. This is stuff I REALLY don't want to know. You wouldn't tell me that when we meet on the street. Why (oh, WHY) would you think I'd want to share that information with 1000 of your closest friends??
I know there are good reasons to use social networking. For instance, I use LinkedIn to keep in touch with professional friends and acquaintances. There are work- and job-related reasons for doing so, and they make sense.
But, as I said above, some people are out of control. That story is a cautionary tale.
So, please, if you use social networking sites, use critical thinking (other definitions of the term can be found here and here) when posting information. Think about what you are posting. If you think it might be even the slightest bit negative, wait an hour before posting it. If you still feel obligated to post it, by all means, do so. Just be aware that you might be hanging yourself.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I started this blog about six or so months ago. I want to thank all of you who read it, and especially those who comment. You all add a little bit to my life! I hope I do the same for you.
So, on to 2009 and better times!