Saturday, September 18, 2004

Are these warnings real about Spyware?

This article was copied from the Lockergnome's Windows News Letter


Ken Colburn of Data Doctors answers April, who writes:

I keep getting warnings when I’m online that my computer is infected with spyware and that I should download a free program to fix it. Are these warnings real?

An unfortunate reality of today’s Internet experience is that just by casually surfing the Net, you can pick up numerous pests commonly referred to as Adware and Spyware. Think of it as the inevitable grime that is picked up on your vehicle just by driving it around. Virtually every computer that spends any time at all on the Internet will come in contact with these hidden programs that exist purely to pester us with advertising by tracking what we do when we surf.
By harvesting the surfing habits of millions of users, companies can sell access to ‘targeted’ groups (surfers that tend to visit clothing or car sites, etc.) to the annoying advertisers that are looking for a very small response rate to make it all worthwhile. Between all of the in-your-face pop-up ads, vulnerabilities in just about every Internet enabled software program, and hidden programs within other programs, it has become a major task to combat this latest blight of online life.
The ‘warnings’ that you are referring to are nothing more than an aggressive advertising campaign to try to scare you into buying a product (a.k.a. ‘Scare-ware’).
There are no programs currently available that can actually check your computer for Adware and Spyware through a pop-up window, and even if they could, I would not trust them. The majority of anti-spyware programs are actually very questionable in their tactics to get you to buy. Many of them make it look like they are scanning your system and come up with concocted results to make you think that you are infected, because they know that virtually everyone online has some form of Adware or Spyware in their system.
A Web site known as Spyware Warrior currently lists 96 different spyware removal programs that are of questionable nature because of false-positives, poor results, or deceptive advertising. Some are actually spyware programs in disguise! These rogue programs will go as far as offering a free download that will scan your system, but will not clean it out unless you pay. To make things worse, they may even require you to buy a subscription to their service in order to uninstall the program, even though it did nothing for you.
In general, the best anti-spyware tools are free and have gained popularity through word of mouth, not pop-up ads. The two that I always recommend are Ad-aware Personal Edition and Spybot Search and Destroy. Both of these programs have gained such an audience that they are constantly being knocked off at hundreds of Web sites that push inferior programs.
Only download these programs from the links that I have listed above or you can always check the Data Doctors Web site for a list of all of the programs that we have tested and recommend for fighting Spyware, pop-ups, spam or any of the today’s most common nuisances.


Friday, September 17, 2004

Attachments - No Dice

My phone has been ringing off the hook with people calling telling me they are unable to open attachments. They are telling me they always could open them before but now they are unable to. What gives ?

It is a simple fix, but what is causing this change, I haven’t a clue. It maybe an update to Windows XP. If you have auto-update turned on this may be where it is coming from. If you know please let me know.

1. To fix this:
2. Click on ‘tools’
3. Click on ‘Options’
4. Click on ‘security’
5. Un-Check the box ‘Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened ……’
6. Click ‘OK’

Now you can open attachments, but be warned, “this is where most of the nasties come from”. Make sure the attachment is safe to open before you clicket–e-click. You have now been warned, be very careful.

Burning CDs with XP

If you use Windows XP, (and you should be) you may be familiar with the built-in CD burning software that it comes with. However, since it is limited in functionality, many people opt to use third party CD burning software such as Nero. (Its the best) If this is the case you you should disable the CD burning software that is included with Windows XP.

You can do so by using these steps outlined below:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and click Windows Explorer.
2. Right click your CD burner within Windows Explorer and click Properties.
3. From the Properties window, select the Recording tab as shown in the following figure.
4. Clear the check box beside the option to Enable CD recording on this drive.
5. Click OK.

Thursday, September 16, 2004



Posted by Hello

RAID is not just for killing bugs

Q:
I’ve heard the term RAID thrown around recently. I’ve inquired about what it is, but people usually tell me that it would be of no benefit to me. Could you provide me with a simple explanation?

A:
RAID stands for "Redundant Array of Independent Disks". (I had to look that one up) It’s basically a method of setting up multiple hard drives as if they were one. This means that the data will be spread among the various drives, and not just placed on one drive. What are the benefits of this method? Well, in a one hard drive setup, if the drive dies, you’ve lost all of your data. With RAID, you have data spanned across all of the other hard drives, which means that things can continue to function under a certain level of efficiency if a drive goes kaput. Along with this benefit, your access times and performance will be increased. To set up RAID you need a fairly new computer and lots of bucks. ($$$)

Send this to 13 people

Do you ever wonder why the Net runs slow ?



Something good will happen to you tonight at 11:11 PM. This is not a joke. Someone will either call you or will talk to you online and say that they love you. Do not break this chain. Send this to 13 people in the next 15 minutes.


Please don't forward this crazy stuff on !


Wednesday, September 15, 2004

XP SP2 Firewall or open that door

Open a port in Microsoft XP SP2 firewall

I have a program or two that the SP2 Firewall blocks the port on. To open a port go to:
Start-> Settings-> Control Panel-> Network. Right click network connection icon.
Select “Advanced” tab. Click Settings button, then “Add” button.
Enter the following information
Description: Name of the program (like Echolink)
Name or IP Address: The IP or Hostname of the current computer.
Internal port: xxxx (like 4899)
External port: xxxx (like 4899)
Protocol: TCP.
Click “OK” button.

Now the port is open, "not blocked", and your program should work for you.

Mooorhead Moorehead, open that door, let those lions on the floor (VHS inside joke)

A new look

My wife moves the coffee pot, the sugar bowl, the salt & pepper. She wants to change the wall paper or paint color on the walls. This drives me crazy, but now, here I have gone and changed the layout and color of this Blog. I hope it doesn't drive you crazy. I kind'a like it, Do you ?

Tuesday, September 14, 2004


I bet you didn't know Ripley County had a round barn, well it dose.
To find it go south from New Marion Indiana. Turn east on 600S
The barn is on South side of road. A nice Sunday afternoon drive.
Use your GPS to find it,
Latitude: N38 59.21
Longitude: W85 21.17


Re-run of Pacasa

If you failed to download and install Pacasa you are missing the boat. The more I use it the more features I find. If you have a home network this program will let you display and modify photos on another computer. The crop feature is one of the very best I have ever used, (“Look Mom no jaggies”) and you can crop to the exact size you want. ( 5X7 - 8X10 )

This is a free program from Google (the best search engine on the net) and you do not even have to register it if you don’t want to. I was using ASeeDC to view photos but Picasa has it beat hands down. If you are one of the many that have a digital camera or scanner, you need Pacasa. Get it here: http://www.picasa.com/picasa/

Saving the Word

If you have ever lost a Microsoft Word document, you are probably aware of the importance of saving your work. Thankfully, Microsoft Word will automatically save your document for you in the event that you aren’t a frequent saver. You can make sure this feature is turned on in Microsoft Word 2002 by clicking Options from the Tools menu. From the Options dialog box, select the Save tab. Make sure that there is a check mark beside Auto Recover info every. You can then alter the frequency at which Word will save your work.

Even though I have the AutoRecovery feature of Word enabled, I still find myself saving my work on a regular basis, sometimes after every page or paragraph that I type. A simple Ctrl+S and my work is saved again.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Parrot Head ?


Taken at: Versailles Legion Jimmy Buffet Party

Sometimes you feel like a nut
- Sometimes you don't
(Almond Joy)