Happy New Year everyone!  Time for my last post of the year, but...

Looks like this is the time of year for Top 10 lists! Kim Komando posts a very good one at the link below.I suspect we can all learn SOMETHING from it.

Top 10 Privacy Tips of 2010

10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology

This is very interesting. It sure made me think about changes I can make, and I may do some of them. Not all apply, at least not to me, but maybe you can get one or 2 good ideas and try them out. Also, I don't necessarily agree with all of them. Followers know that my free antivirus program of choice is Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), but I also confess I know nothing of Avast and have nothing against it.

This is from the New York Times and was written by SAM GROBART. Good food for thought.

10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology

PC Repair Rip-Offs: Don't Get Gouged by Fix-It Services

A worthwhile article to read from pcworld.com.

"Computers don't always work as they should. Components fail, and operating systems fill up with crap that hinders performance and occasionally brings the whole machine to a halt. Savvy users know that they can fix most PC problems themselves, and use sites like PCWorld.com to find solutions to their tech problems. Those who lack confidence in their tech skills, however, often fall prey to the rapacious tactics of online and local repair shops."

Read more here...

We celebrate the birth of Jesus

Merry Christmas

Kim Komando's Top 10 Cool Web Sites of 2010

These are the top 10 cool web sites of 2010 per Kim Komando as posted on her web site today, 12/21/2010. 

"There are literally billions of Websites. That can make it difficult to find the ones that will really help you or entertain you. Every day I bring you the best the Internet has to offer. It could be a game or a helpful service.

Here's a look back at this year's most popular Cool Sites:

1. Quotes to inspire you
Sometimes it is hard to get inspired. That's when reaching for a favorite inspirational quote can help. This site has you covered.

2. Fun online jigsaw puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles are fun, but they take up a lot of room. Do hundreds of jigsaw puzzles online instead.

3. How much is your home really worth?
It's been a rough couple years for real estate. Is the value of your home finally recovering? Find out now!

4. Get free birthday treats
Presents are a Birthday staple. But why stop there? There are tons of places that will give you stuff for free.

5. Match current geography with the Bible
Geography knowledge can help us understand historic events. Get geographic information for Biblical locations.

6. Digging up dirt online
What do you really know about the people around you? Learn more about them for free.

7. Play old video games online
Miss the good old days of 16-color graphics and 8-bit sound? Thanks to the Internet, you can still play the games of yesteryear.

8. Great cleaning tips
Cleaning is a fact of life. But what do you do when cleaning isn't working? Visit this free Website to get the solution.

9. Get crime reports for your area
Even safe neighborhoods have crime. Get crime reports for your area. It will help you keep your family safe.

10. Find real car prices before you buy
Buying a new car can be stressful. How do you know you're getting the best price? This site can help you find out."

Bloatware

When you buy a new computer you will likely find many programs installed that you did not want. Many of these will be for trial periods of fee-based programs. In this case I am talking specifically about McAfee antivirus. It will have been installed and running just fine, but after some trial period like 30 or 60 days they will require you to PAY to keep their product working.

I will limit my comments about bloatware here, but I have to say it infuriates me.

In this case, a customer wrote: "I'm hoping you can help with a problem on my new computer. I'm trying to download AVG on my new computer now that the free 30 day McAfee has expired and the installation message is that it requires the internet and to list my server and port. Any suggestions? Super Anti Spyware installed with no problem. Thanks much!"
 
This is my reply:

"I do not recommend AVG anymore. Instead, I strongly recommend Microsoft Security Essentials. It too is free and has less overhead than AVG, has no marketing gimmicks or pressure on you, updates automatically, and, as far as I can see does an equal or better job of protecting you.

You will need to uninstall McAfee before installing any other antivirus program.

The first thing you should do is download Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). You can do that here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

When downloading MSE you will need to specify whether you have a 32 bit system or a 64 bit system. I assume you have Windows 7? The stickers on your keyboard should indicate which you have.

See my blog entry here for my recommended security baseline suite:

http://pcdocsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-recommended-security-baseline.html

Before installing MSE you need to uninstall McAfee. If you like doing this stuff on your own, follow the instructions here:

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507

Be sure to reboot after a successful removal of McAfee.

Now install MSE.

If you don't want to do this yourself, I can do it for you online with a remote control session. Or, if this is a laptop you can take it back to Best Buy (or wherever you bought it) and tell them to remove the McAfee. They should do that at no charge."

Windows Updates

14 updates today for my XP system. One of them, as usual, was the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT).  I just started a full scan as a part of this monthly activity. If you do this too, be sure that the program is the December version. START/RUN/MRT/OK.

Keep Your Credit Cards Safe From Skimmers

This timely article is from PCWorld.com. It's kinda scary. There are very few good tips to prevent this criminal activity, so beware!

"Credit card skimming is a major threat to credit and debit card users. Here's what you need to know about this increasingly common form of financial fraud.

You're in a restaurant, enjoying a deep conversation. Peripherally, you see the waiter take your credit card and return a few minutes with a slip for you to sign. You think nothing of it until a few hours later when you receive a call from your bank: Someone is racking up serious debt on your credit card, mostly for electronics purchases. Is it you?

Skimming, a form of high-tech financial fraud, is on the rise worldwide. It relies on sophisticated data-reading electronics to copy the magnetic stripe information from your credit card or debit card. It can capture both your credit card number and your PIN. And it's happening not just at restaurants but at neighborhood gas pumps and ATM machines."

Read the entire article here

Hard Drive Diagnostic Rogue Program

A customer from my VT past wrote to say that her system had been infected by what I think is a new rogue program called "Hard Drive Diagnostic". I had not heard of it before. I see the folks at bleepingcomputer.com have heard of it and , no surprise to me, they say that the fix for it is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, the free program contained in my base security recommended list of (free) programs. 

Should you get bitten by this rogue, I would recommend you start your system in Safe Mode and run a full scan using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-hard-drive-diagnostic

Also see http://pcdocsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-recommended-security-baseline.html 

HOSTS File

The December MVPS HOSTS file is available today. This is a good day to fire up Spybot, update it, run immunize, and then run search and destroy. Afterwards, download the HOSTS file and install it and rest easy for the next month!

Speaking of AVG...............

This comes from technibble.com

"Yesterday AVG sent out an update that conflicts with 64bit Windows 7 systems. The conflict causes a “blue screen of death” when the system starts with the following message:

STOP: c0000135 The program can’t start because %hs is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

The makers of AVG have since removed the bad update (3292) and will be releasing a fix program in the coming days.

In order to repair the problem now, users can go into safemode and do a system restore back to a date before the update was downloaded. If users cannot get into safe mode, it is also possible to go into “Startup Repair”, “Repair Your Computer” and choose “View advanced options for system recovery and support” once it finishes scanning.

AVG has also posted additional repair details here if the above does not work."

If you found the previous two posts of interest, you should read this third part of the package. This article is more generic than the previous 2, but does include product specific information about the top products in each category (fee & free). Many of you may be interested in reading this. This is part 3 of 3 and again comes from pcworld.com.

Also of interest to me is how AVG, my old favorite free antivirus, has apparently fallen out of favor and not kept up with the competition. Also note while you read that both AVAST & AVIRA, like AVG Free, include annoying marketing messages trying to move you up to their fee-based professional versions.

Free vs. Fee: Free and Paid Antivirus Programs Compared

Top 5 Paid Antivirus for 2011

As a complement to yesterday's post about free antivirus programs, here is a similar list but this time of the fee-based antivirus programs. I try to avoid having to pay for software whenever I can, so I am no personal friend of any of these products, but I know there are plenty of people out there who like, and stay with, their fee-based programs. Keep in mind that for most, if not all, of these fee-based antivirus programs, the fee is an annual one. That's right, you have to pay every year to get the latest version. Check into each one if you are interested, to see exactly how their fee structure works. I am no expert in this.

As was yesterday's post, this review comes from pcworld.com

The specific article named above can be found here: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/5927/2011_paid_av.html 

Top 5 Free Antivirus for 2011

This is very interesting, perhaps especially to me. I am happy to see my recommended free antivirus program, Microsoft Security Essentials in what appears to be a virtual tie for second place. I am happy to see MSE ranked so favorably. It is, after all, a fairly new product. I have never thought that an antivirus program alone can do it all for you, and that is why I have a recommended security suite, and not just an antivirus program.

It will be worth your while to check out this web site and the results, provided by pcworld.com.

The review can be found here: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/5928/2011_free_av.html

If any of you reading this uses Avast, I would be interested in your comments about it. You can comment to this post below or write me at pcdoc@brpcdoc.com.

Christmas Food Court Surprise

Amazing! Enjoy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope from time to time you find something you can use.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Is It Big Brother or Just an Algorithm?

This is a very interesting blog post from David Pogue of the NY Times. He wrote:

"A reader just wrote to complain. In Gmail, he wrote, “I have attached photo,” but then clicked Send without actually attaching anything. A message popped up: “You wrote ‘I have attached’ in your message, but there are no files attached. Send anyway?”

The reader was dismayed, saying he felt as if Big Brother was watching him.

My take is a little different. It’s this: “Wow, how smart of Google’s completely automated, robotic software algorithms to scan for the words ‘I have attached’ and flag me if I actually forget to attach the file! It saves me time and embarrassment, and of course isn’t anything at all like Big Brother because it’s a completely automated, robotic software algorithm!”

Man. This reminds me of the furor when Gmail first came out, offering 1,000 times the storage of rival Web e-mail services, but featuring little text ads at the side of the screen related to the contents of each message. There was the same Big Brother hysteria even though then, too, it was a completely automated, robotic software algorithm “reading” your mail.

Trust me, folks. If you’re worrying about Google reading your e-mail, you’d also better worry about Verizon and Comcast and Stop ‘n ‘Shop and Visa and your local library peeking into what you’re saying or watching or eating or buying or reading.

Now is a tad too late to worry about the privacy of your mundane life, methinks."

Visual tour: 25 years of Windows

This is interesting, particularly for someone like me who has lived through all of this.

"Twenty-five years ago, on Nov. 20, 1985, Microsoft introduced its first version of Windows to the world. Not many people outside the technical press or the tech industry took notice. Product launch events that cost hundreds of millions of dollars were still years away.

What's changed in Windows in the last 25 years? Plenty. In this image gallery, we take a look at the various faces of Windows over the past couple of decades and clue you in to what happened at every stage of the operating system's development.

1985: Windows 1.0

Screenshot courtesy of Microsoft.

Windows started in 1981 as a project called Interface Manager and experienced a series of delays getting out of the gate. When it was finally released in late 1985 as Windows 1.0, it made a ripple, not a splash. It had to be run on top of DOS, few applications were written for it, and application windows couldn't be overlapped (they had to be tiled).

Still, the OS allowed for multitasking of Windows apps (not DOS ones) and, even though few knew it at the time, it would eventually become the foundation for the Microsoft empire.

Windows 1.0 shipped with a handful of apps, including the Notepad text editor, a rudimentary calendar and the long-lived graphics painting program Paint. The operating system required MS-DOS Version 2.0, 256KB of memory and a graphics adapter. It could be run either from a hard disk or on two floppy disks running simultaneously -- in other words, you couldn't swap the disks in and out of a single drive."

Editorial comment: A hard drive was pretty rare then, and most people couldn't afford two diskette drives!

MORE......

Facebook e-mail?

Oh brother, here we go!


http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/15/gmail-beware-facebook-unveils-e-mail-service/

Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward

I subscribe to the Windows Secrets weekly newsletter. You can do so by donation. There is no fixed fee. I like the service and have over the past couple of years read many very worthwhile articles. The newsletter is always there in my Inbox folder on Thursday mornings.

This week's newsletter has an article titled Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward. I have provided a link to that article below. For those of you, like me, who still run XP on one or more machines, this is an outstanding reference article you will want to hang on to for the next 4 or more years.

As stated many times before, Windows XP will be supported by Microsoft through 2014, so there is no rush to migrate upwards if you don't have a need to do that.

Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward

MSRT

I just installed a half dozen or so Microsoft updates on my XP system, and saw that Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) was included in the list.

I have just clicked on START/RUN, keyed in MRT (not a typo), and clicked on OK to start the MSRT tool running. I noted that the window indicated the NOVEMBER 2010 version (up on top) and selected FULL SCAN, and it is now running and will finish while I am asleep.

This should be a routine by now for you all, I hope.

A Fall Guide: How to Pick Your Next Computer

Walt Mossberg's annual report from the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital web site. This may come in handy for those of you considering a Christmas gift for yourself or someone else.

A Fall Guide: How to Pick Your Next Computer

MSRT

A very observant and astute follower asked if Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool should be included in my security baseline.

Very good question. To be truthful, I think she was correct to ask and I frankly forgot about it.

MSRT, as has been posted here more than once, comes out once a month along with the usual monthly Microsoft updates. When that happens, I am all over it and run a FULL SCAN with the new MSRT. I have said I view it as insurance, and free at that. I also found out that Microsoft only runs a quick scan when the update is installed, so I figured why not run a full scan once a month just as extra added protection?

I don't know if I should include MSRT in the security baseline. I won't, for now at least, but I thank the reader who brought this to my attention, and I strongly encourage all of you to do as I do and run a monthly full scan.

My Recommended Security Baseline

From time to time I have and will refer to my security baseline. My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free) and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. Over the next week, as time allows, I will make some comments and advice and instruction on each of these 7 products. If you are interested in making a change on your system(s) to this baseline or to some of it, please give me the chance to elaborate on these products over the course of the next week, and then make your decisions. This applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement based on many years of experience.

1. Microsoft Security Essentials
2. Windows Firewall
3. MVPS HOSTS File
4. CCleaner
5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition
7. Spybot Search & Destroy

Something completely different

These aerial photos are so fabulous I just had to share them with you all:

http://justpaste.it/3ky

More housecleaning

The MVPS HOSTS file, October edition, was made available yesterday. You can get it at http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm.

Prior to installing it I recommend a monthly running of Spybot. When you start up Spybot remember to Update, Immunize, and then Search & Destroy. If you have been following my recommendations for a security baseline, then you should see this afterwards:

 

Although it might seem like a waste of time, I find it comforting to see that window once a month. My security baseline is different from most in my profession, but it works, and my system remains clean.

As a review, the reason for running Spybot only once a month, and just before installing the latest MVPS HOSTS file is that a part of Spybot's immunization process is to append thousands of extra lines to your existing HOSTS file. It is my belief that these are redundant and unnecessary as long as you install the MVPS HOSTS file. Remember, your HOSTS file is loaded into memory when you boot your machine, so you want an effective file but not one that is larger than necesary.

Security Firm Warns of Increase in Holiday Themed Malware Attacks

From maximumpc.com

"GFI Software, a security firm specializing in various software for small to medium-sized business, says to be on the lookout for Halloween-themed malware attacks.
The company's dedicated malware research center, GFI Labs, has been busy analyzing data from its ThreatNet monitoring system that retrieves real-time stats from tens of thousands of PCs running VIPRE antivirus software. What they found was an increase in the number of Trojans making the rounds in the days leading up to Halloween compared to last year."

More

Monday morning housecleaning

Lately I have tried to develop a routine of doing a little housecleaning on my laptop every Monday morning. I run a selection of tools including CCleaner, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware or SuperAntispyware (alternating weeks), and Tune-up Utilities (Registry Cleaner, 1-Click Maintenance,  Gain Disk Space, and Configure System Startup).

The only program I have in my system startup list is Microsoft Security Essentials. The reason I look at this every week is that some programs (Adobe Reader & Java) seem to reinsert their update managers in the list on a regular basis. I have MSE set up to run a full scan every night around midnight.

Then, once a month, right after seeing that there is a new MVPS HOSTS file available, I run Spybot S&D and then install the HOSTS file.

It is important to keep all of these programs up to date, so before I run any of them I check for the latest updates just to be sure.

Paypal Phishing Scam

Doesn't this e-mail look legitimate? Please be sure never to fall for anything like this. If you do what they say, you'll wind up giving them your Paypal account userid and password, and from there they will have access to your bank account and probably your credit card information.

I have removed the link where it says "click here.....".


The e-mail came from paypal@service.com, which is to me a clear indicator that it's a phony address.

Information Regarding Your account:

Dear PayPal Member: Attention! Your PayPal account has been limited! As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in the PayPal system.We recently contacted you after noticing an issue on your account.We requested information from you for the following reason: Our system detected unusual charges to a credit card linked to your PayPal account. Reference Number: PP-259-187-991 This is the Last reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. Once you log in, you will be provided with steps to restore your account access. We appreciate your understanding as we work to ensure account safety. Click here to activate your account We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologise for any inconvenience.. Sincerely, PayPal Account Review Department

Copyright ? 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal Ltd. PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056.

PayPal Email ID PP059

Office for Mac Isn’t an Improvement

This comes as a disappointment to me. I was hoping for a rich Office product for my MacBook Pro. I even figured I would have to spend $200 on it because I use Outlook for my e-mail. Now I am not so sure.

From David Pogue of the New York Times:

"Last week, though, Microsoft released Office 2011 for Mac, the first new version in several years. The Home version ($120) comes with Word, Excel and PowerPoint; the Business version adds the Outlook e-mail program (formerly called Entourage), which goes for $200. Much of the work Microsoft has done is to make the Mac version of Office look and work more like the Windows versions.
The new Office suite has gotten rave reviews from my colleagues at other publications. Clearly something must be wrong with me; I think that, in day-to-day usability, Office 2011 is a big step backward."

Read the whole article here

Bharath has been absent for a while, and I for one have missed his blog posts that address new rogue programs. Today he is back, and boy did he come back strong. I didn't count them, but he has identified a bunch of new rogues, some of which one or more of you might encounter. For most of these he provides a link to removal instructions. This site is definitely worth visiting once in a while, just so you can stay one step ahead of the bad guys.

Bharath's Security Blog

 As good a resource tool as Bharath's web site is, remember that the best defense is a good offense, and if you practice what I preach, you shouldn't have these problems.

Please take heed and secure your system now!

I did this, per the article's instructions, and would have sworn that I saw a good improvement on my home network, but a couple of days later I am not really sure. However, I trust Fred Langa implicitly, so I feel I have improved my network performance. Unlike Fred, I had no benchmarks to measure before and after performance, but the change Fred recommends is very quick and easy and can be reversed just as quickly and easily. Fred's article will describe his benchmark test and the performance improvement that resulted. This is for Windows 7 users.

Simple change in settings pumps up Win7 networks

Is that noise coming from the computer bad?

This is a post form the blog of Call That Girl. It contains some very good information and I have not posted something like this, so please read on for some good tips on keeping that old computer running.

"Probably, but should you do anything about it is the question. I had a client yesterday that told me that her computer has been making noises for a long time. I asked how old it was and she said it was from 2005. Well, it’s five years old now. In computer life, that’s about 80 years old. Just like dogs live every 7 for our 1, computers have even shorter lives that dogs. If an average desktop computer runs 7 years without major malfunction (which most can, if taken care of right), then at age five, the computer is showing signs of aging.

Should this client get it looked at? At this point, it could be a simple fix, or an expensive fix. Would I put the money into it to see if it would last? Probably not too much with it being five years old. I just don’t see it worth it when the next thing that will probably go wrong, it the hard drive. And with labor and new hard drive, that’s approx $150 and up. New desktops that are “average” are $300-$400 brand new. But if you are concerned and want to see if it’s a simple fix, you can try a few things.

The computer may be running hot with processes and programs, so the hardware is working harder. A computer cleaning would maybe help that. During a Call That Girl computer cleaning, we also do a few system/memory checks and help you back up your data, just in case that computer does just shut down one day. (Which is worth it’s weight in gold if you’re not backing up or doing it properly!)

We can also walk you through helping you dust out the inside of the desktop unit or blow out the laptop air vents. Many times, the vents just need a good dusting! Or the desktop computer has TONS of dust in it from years of sitting around. I have seen miracles happen with a can of Dust Air.

If you want to try dusting out the computer yourself, here are some simple ways to do it.

• Unplug all of your cords from the desktop computer/laptop.
• Take the computer outside
• Take off the cover of the computer. For a desktop, there are usually “thumbscrews” (bigger ones) that are on the back side where all the ports/plugs are. Unscrew those 2 big thumbscrews and the cover should now come off, you may need to slide it off.
• Then take a paper towel and grab all the larger pieces of dust you can see.
• Take the can of Dust Air and start spraying at all the areas that are covered in dust. You may not want to be too close, dust will fly everywhere! Make sure to not get the nozzle too close to parts, just close enough to get out the dust. Get all the nooks and cranny corners while you are in there too. Do not get out a wet towel to clean any parts, all you need it Dust Air.
• For laptops, take the can of Dust Air and spray about 4 inches away to the vents. You will see small pops of dust come out. For those that have a lot, continue to spray until the dust it about gone.
• Remember, don’t spray too close and don’t over spray it. Just get the dust out." 

Which Online Mapping Service Is Best?

From PCWorld.com comes this excellent article that compares the 3 top online mapping services. Worth a gander.

"Bing, Google Maps, and MapQuest all have their charms, but which one will get you where you need to go with the least hesitation and the most accuracy? We examine all three and pick a winner." 

More

This Computerworld article is worth a quick read, but the key sentence in the article is this: "In reality, no browser offers its users security updates from its anti-malware warning screen."

Don't let your guard down and fall for something like these scams. They ARE out to get you!

Fake browser warnings dupe users into downloading 'scareware'

Microsoft Security Essentials now protecting over 31 million computers.

Have you switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) yet? Remember, this is FREE! I have been using it ever since I first learned about it. It has low overhead, and that is what I like best about it. It's time to give some serious thought to dumping your Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, Trend Micro, AVG, or whatever.

This article by Paul Lilly is from Maximum PC.

Antivirus vendors went on the offensive when Microsoft announced it was dropping its Windows Live OneCare in favor of offering a free security suite, Microsoft Security Essentials. One year later and with 31 million installations now under its belt, Microsoft is free to serve up a slice of humble pie to the competition.

"It's been a busy year for Microsoft Security Essentials. As we observed right after the first week of release, Microsoft Security Essentials had already detected threats on over half a million computers," the Redmond outfit said in a TechNet blog post. "As Microsoft Security Essentials enters into its second year with over 31 million installations, 27 million of those computers have reported infections to the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC)."
In other words, MSE isn't just popular, it's also working (you can read our review of Microsoft Security Essentials right here). It's also a global hit.

"The country with the most installations is the United States, but the next 10 countries with the most installs show that Microsoft Security Essentials has a global install base," Microsoft points out. "It is available in 27 languages – so language shouldn’t be a barrier to good security. Money is no problem, either – Microsoft Security Essentials is available at no cost!"

Read More

New Gmail Feature Lets You Turn Off Conversation View

Halleluia! I think. Although my primary e-mail address is a Google one, I continue to use Outlook and POP3 to access my e-mail. However, when on someone else's computer, I am forced to use the Google webmail version, and I have always hated Google's Conversation View. This feature groups e-mails by subject and presents them to the user in that way. It makes it very difficult to find and isolate a single e-mail one might be looking for. So now Google has introduced a new feature found in Settings that allows the user to turn off Conversation View. This is what I have always wanted, and I just did that. It remains to be seen if after all of this time of using their conversation grouping if I won't prefer that, but for now Conversation View is turned off.

This article by Ryan Whitman can be found at MaximumPC.

"When Gmail launched, it brought a new way of organizing emails that saved space and made many users quite happy. Of course we're referring to the Conversation View. Gmail groups all messages in a particular reply thread together under a single heading. While the majority of users have been happy with the system, a small, but vocal, minority have been looking for a way to disable it. Now Google is obliging with a new feature addition.

Users that want to ditch the Conversation view and go back to the traditional way of showing emails (i.e. each message gets its own entry), can do so. In the main Gmail settings page, There is a new section called "Conversation View". There is a simple toggle for turning this on and off. Some feel that it is easier to find specific emails without the Conversations enabled. If you fall into that camp, look for the option to roll out to your account in the next day or two.

While most users might be perfectly happy with the way Gmail works, we want to know what you think. Will you leave Conversations on, or turn it off?

Image via Google"

The latest in technology from David Pogue of the New York Times

This is another good blog I am adding to my reading list. You will find some good nuggets here.

Pogue's Posts

I learned something I didn't know in this Kim Komando Tip of the Day of September 25. I read the whole tip with great interest and then followed Kim's advice on how to get control of this Flash Player invasion of my privacy. I had no idea. I recommend this as a worthwhile exercise. You may be surprised.

How Flash cookies threaten your privacy

An American in Paris Says Au Revoir to His Laptop

This is an interesting article by Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. It's not an Apple iPad ad, although it may seem like it, but rather an experiment. As he puts it, "Lots of people are wondering whether a touch-based tablet computer that doesn’t have a physical keyboard or run a traditional operating system can replace their laptops on the road. So I decided to find out."
  

An American in Paris Says Au Revoir to His Laptop

MVPS HOSTS File for September available now

I hope there are several of you who know the drill and will download and install the new HOSTS file!

MVPS HOSTS File Update September-22-2010

 
The MVPS HOSTS file was recently updated [September-22-2010]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Download: hosts.zip (150 kb)
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip

How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS filehttp://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts2.htm

HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hostsfaq.htm

Note: the "text" version makes a great resource for determining possible unwanted connections ...
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt (606 kb)

Flip Video Cameras

I love my Flip video camera. I have had mine, obviously an older model, for about 2 or 3 years, and I use it frequently to film family events mostly. It is simple to upload the videos to YouTube, and I do that a lot. So this week some new models have been introduced. You can read about them here and by following the link below. This article came from MaximumPC.com.

Cisco is pretty jazzed about its all-new line of affordable Ultra HD and Mino HD video cameras, the newest entries to the company's popular Flip family.

"This is without question the best line of Flip Video cameras we've ever created," said Jonathan Kaplan, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Consumer Products. "The new line combines Flip simplicity, affordability, and fun with truly breakthrough video quality, image stabilization, and unlimited personalization options."

Sporting slimmer designs and personalization through the Flip Online Store (TheFlip.com), both the Mino HD and Ultra HD come in 4GB (1 hour) and 8GB (2 hour) capacities and offer 60FPS at 1280x720.

The new Flip cameras are available now for $150 (Ultra HD 4GB), $180 (Mino HD 4GB), $200 (Ultra HD 8GB), and $230 (Mino HD 8GB).

Read More

And now, a word from our sponsor

Okay, sorry for this, but there is a great little property for sale at Ocean Point in East Boothbay, Maine. This is an area in which we have vacationed for 36 summers now, and it is a little bit of paradise. It is a wonderful family community. Please check it out. If not you, maybe someone you know might be interested.

This property includes a cabin that is nestled on a lot more than 3/4 of an acre in size in a very quiet and private part of Ocean Point. The spot is right in the heart of OP, very close to Shore Road, Grimes Cove, the OP Casino, ball field, and tennis courts, and a short 5 minute walk to the Ocean Point Inn and the community dock. Join in all the activities sponsored by the Ocean Point Colony Trust or retreat to your own little bit of heaven in this adorable cabin. This cabin was completely renovated and refurbished in the Summer of 2007. One bedroom with queen-sized bed and a full-sized baby crib, and plenty of room to relax inside or out, combine to make this the perfect getaway for Mom, Dad, and Baby! High speed internet, Cable TV, and digital phone are all available from Time Warner Cable at this site at their prevailing rates.

The lot was once made up of 3 distinct lots that have since been combined into one. Each of the 3 lots was .26 acres. The cabin and the brand new septic system are both wholly contained on the westernmost of the 3 lots, leaving the other 2 contiguous lots as more than a half acre building lot. If a new home were to be built on that half acre, the cabin might possibly be used as a studio or bunkhouse, subject to the town zoning laws.

We believe the true value of this property is in its potential to be the site of a new year-round home that can be built by the purchasers. The heavily wooded lot has been thinned and trimmed and has taken on a completely different look from what it was when we bought it. It is now easier to see the ocean and visualize a location for a new home. Finally, just this summer we had a new septic system installed. We are still on town seasonal water, but there is plenty of room for a well.

Pictures of the property can be viewed at http://our4sons.com/Cabin%20in%20the%20Pines/cabin_in_the_pines_details.htm

Additional contact information is also available at that web site.

MSE - Microsoft Security Essentials - GET ON BOARD!

Here is more affirmation that my recommendation for Microsoft Security Essentials is a sound one. If you are not using MSE, I suggest you convert now. If you are using a fee-based antivirus product, start saving money. MSE is free. If you are using my old recommended product, AVG Free, I can assure you that MSE works better, has less overhead, and will not pressure you to upgrade to a fee version, as AVG does.

The following is just the header info from an article in the Windows Secrets Newsletter.

Security Essentials test drive — month 6

By Fred Langa After half a year of real-life testing, Microsoft's Security Essentials anti-malware application is batting 1.000. All nine test computers — a mix of Windows 7, Vista and XP systems (including two portables with 20,000 miles of travel) — remain malware- and virus-free.

Windows Updates and MSRT

I noticed that I had 8 updates applied to my system overnight, and included was the monthly version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). Windows Update is a little different in Windows 7. It has a new look and is done outside of Internet Explorer. This is what my history looks like for last night (click for larger image):

 

As has become my custom, I ran a standalone Full Scan of MSRT. You can do this by clicking on START/RUN/MRT/OK. (yes, MRT is correct. Don't ask me why!)

Be sure that the MSRT window indicates that it is the September 2010 version (in the upper right corner of the window). My full scan ran for over 3 hours, but didn't keep me from running other things and I feel good afterwards for having run it. I consider it a worthwhile monthly exercise.

Google Chrome

I have made no secret of the fact that I am a big Google fan. However, I continue to be disappointed in their browser offering, Google Chrome. I have downloaded the latest version, 6.0.472.55 beta, and find that it STILL does not offer a left side of the screen sidebar display of Favorites or Bookmarks, as does every other browser I have ever tried. I don't understand why they don't, and find the product unusable - to me anyway - without that capability.

Today I have uninstalled it, as I have every other earlier version I tried. Get with it Google!

Google Instant: The Pros and Cons

You have probably heard of Google Instant, announced a few days ago. I have played with it quite a bit and am somewhat impressed. I suppose it will become a way of life for all of us and will prove, in time, to be a worthwhile enhancement that will save us time and make us more productive. This PCWorld article covers the pros and the cons of Instant.

Google Instant: The Pros and Cons

MSE Lookalike Rogue Program

If you use Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) as your antivirus program, as I do on all of my machines, you should be aware and alert to the fact that there is a new rogue program that imitates MSE. It would be easy to fall for it if you were not aware of this.

Please take a look at this blog post by Bharath M Narayan to get a feel for what the rogue looks like and what it will do if you are not careful.

http://bharath-m-narayan.blogspot.com/2010/09/5-in-1-special-rogue-combo-campaign.html

MY LUCKY DAY!

Hard to believe that people fall for these phishing scams. The abuse of the English language seems to be common in these and might be your first clue!

Be careful out there!

-------Original Message-------
From: Mrs.Veronica Edward
To: undisclosed-recipients@
Subject: OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION, YOUR EMAIL ID HAS WON
Sent: 06 Sep '10 08:46
--

Microsoft Corporations:
Customer Service
Your Reference No: AHI-L/200-AHI
Your Batch No: 2689/DOL/220042

OFFICIAL WINNING NOTIFICATION.

We are pleased to inform you of the release of the long awaited results of
Sweepstakes promotion organized by Microsoft, in conjunction with the
foundation for the promotion of software products, (F.P.S.) held this
September
2010 in NETHERLANS, Where in your email address emerged as one of the
online Winning emails in the 2nd category and therefore attracted a cash
award of 350,000.00 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Euros) and a Toshiba
Laptop.
To begin your claim, do file for the release of your winning by contacting6
our Foreign Transfer Manager:

Mr. Eddie Wilcox
Tel:0031-616-861-394
Fax:0031-911-820-142
Email:winners_microaward@ozu.es

The Microsoft Internet E-mail lottery Awards is sponsored by our
CEO/Chairman, Bill Gates and a consortium of software promotion companies.
The Intel Group, Toshiba, Dell Computers and other International Companies.
The Microsoft Internet E-mail draw is held periodically and is organized to
encourage the use of the Internet and promote computer literacy worldwide.

Congratulations!!

Sincerely,

Mrs.Veronica Edward,
Promotions Manager.

Rethinking Backups

I chose last night to do backups of my data on my primary machine. I have nearly 90GB of documents, pictures, music, video, e-mail, bookmarks/favorites, and my desktop. I copy all of this, usually on a quarterly basis, to my MyBook 1TB external drive connected via a USB cable.

When I started the copy I was informed that the operation would take 135 minutes, and that, of course, is just the first SWAG of an estimate made by Windows Explorer. What it really took I don't know because I left it and went to bed. Fortunately the operation completed successfully, and did not get hung on on some issue, as can happen from time to time. So when I awoke today I had successfully completed backing up all 90GB.

The data went into a new folder I named MY DATA FROM WINDOWS 7 LAPTOP BACKED UP ON 9-1-2010. I have several such folders which are now getting close to filling up the 1TB. Soon I shall have to free up some space and will go and delete the oldest backup to do that. And so it goes.

I think I shall be giving some thought to finding an alternate and better way to back up all of this data. It would be very nice to have it stored at an off site location where I would be able to access it from anywhere, but then I'd have to pare down the amount of data if I wanted an affordable solution.

I'll let you know what I come up with, if anything, but I don't expect to do that soon. Right now I am feeling pretty good knowing I have a complete backup of all of my data. I hope you are enjoying that same feeling.

Update on new rogue programs

If you go to this web site, note  that everything on the page you go to is new! I was amazed to see how many new rogues were found in the month of August.

You should scroll through them all just to get the idea of what they look like so that should you run into one you will know it is a fake and you can react accordingly.

Note there is even a fake MSRT this month! Pretty clever.

Keep your antivirus up to date. I hope most of you are now using Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). MSE appears to be a very serious product, and like most everything else I recommend, it is free.

Run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, Superantispyware, and Spybot regularly, and be sure you get the current month's HOSTS file in place.

Bharath's Security Blog

This one caught my eye. I find it hard to believe, but there it is. It would be wise to run a virus scan and malware scan on your thumb drives just to be sure they are clean. I'd add checking thumb drives to your regular security checks as well.

The article is on the computerworld.com web site at

1-in-4 worms spread through infected USB devices

What is the best Web browser?

This is from Kim Komando's web site, http://www.komando.com/.

It is presented below as written, with no changes. FYI, I prefer and still recommend Firefox. I have tried Chrome with each new release that comes along, but until/unless it implements a Bookmarks sidebar, like every other browser has, I just won't use it. It takes very little time to download it, install it, test it, and then uninstall it. I have done that many times!

Here is Kim's post:

"The browser world used to be simple. Basically, everyone used Internet Explorer (IE). If you wanted to be different, you could use Netscape. Or you could try Opera, if you knew it existed. And that was about it.

Now we have IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari. And those are just the major ones. Which do you choose?

I'm going to focus on the top three market-share contenders. That would be IE8, Firefox and Chrome, respectively. Opera is excellent, but still a niche program. And Safari works better on the Mac than on PCs. I'll briefly discuss each browser's defining features, security and basic competence.

According to Net Applications, which surveys browser usage, IE was No. 1 in February. It had 62 percent of the market. Firefox was second with 24 percent. Chrome, Safari and Opera trailed, with 6, 4 and 2 percent, respectively.

Browsers are becoming homogenized. As time passes, they incorporate similar features to compete. If nothing drastic happens, they'll all be the same within a couple years. So, choose a browser with short term benefits foremost in mind. And don’t be afraid to switch.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Everyone knows about Internet Explorer. It's installed on every Windows computer by default. Until a few years ago, it was synonymous with the Internet. Now it is losing market share.
IE has no real advantages compared to other browsers. The latest version, IE8, is basically playing catch-up. It is often slower than other browsers and sometimes displays Web sites incorrectly. It also uses system resources heavily. However, users may not always notice these problems.

The entire IE line is plagued with security issues. IE8 is better than 6 or 7, but still not great. If you're using IE, upgrade to IE8.

Microsoft has been showing IE9, and it looks promising. A serious attempt is being made to create a good browser. I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

For now, I would ditch IE. Switching to a new browser is easy and free. You can even transfer all your bookmarks and settings with no hassle.

Mozilla Firefox

My long-standing browser recommendation is Mozilla's Firefox. It started the current browser wars after its debut five years ago. It is a descendent of IE's old rival, Netscape. Like all other browsers, it's free.

Firefox was originally designed for speed and simplicity. It is faster than IE and better conforms to Web standards. This means it displays most Web sites correctly.

Firefox is also strong on security. It's obviously not perfect, but the developers are responsive. They fix security problems in a timely manner.

Firefox is highly customizable. You can download add-ons—themes, extensions and plug-ins. Themes are buttons, colors and layouts. Plug-ins are core programs that make Firefox work better. They are usually included in the Firefox download.

Extensions are a particular strength. These are little programs, nearly always free, that add or enhance features. For instance, you can get an extension that pops up reminders. Another verifies the integrity of Web links. There are literally thousands of things you can add.
Mozilla also has regular upgrades. This continually improves Firefox's speed and stability. New features are always being developed.

Google Chrome

Chrome is the newest major browser. It has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence in only two years. What else do you expect when it is developed by Google?

Google designed Chrome as a platform for using Web services. That could include Google Search, Google Docs, Gmail and so on. Hmm…Those are all Google products. That's probably just a coincidence!

Chrome is an excellent browser. It's consistently the fastest in browsing tests, although often only by  milliseconds. And it gets a 100 percent in the Acid3 test. That test determines how well a browser complies with Web standards.

By comparison, IE8 gets a 20 percent in the Acid3 test. Firefox comes in at 93 percent.
Chrome is also secure. Like Mozilla, it is responsive to security threats. It even implements security features Firefox doesn't have. This includes a sandbox feature that isolates Web pages from the system. Malicious code can't break out to infect your computer. That's scheduled for Firefox, but hasn't arrived yet.

Chrome's interface is a bit different. It wanted more screen area. So, the interface is minimal and streamlined. It works, but it takes some adjustment.

Where Chrome lags is extensions. Many useful extensions for Firefox aren't available for Chrome. Also, the extension database and installation procedures aren't user-friendly. This is improving, but it's still a consideration.

So, which browser should you choose? Well, I don't recommend Internet Explorer. It has too many security problems. Both Firefox and Chrome are fast and secure. Firefox is customizable; Chrome is simple. If you aren't sure, download and test both. Give Opera a try while you're at it. After all, they're free!

No matter how good your browser, you still need to take security seriously."

Thinking of buying a laptop? Read this first

Call That Girl is one of the many web sites I visit frequently. I readily admit that I don't know everything and like to pick up tidbits or pointers elsewhere whenever I can. Lisa has some very good advice in this blog post of hers, and for those of you in the market for a new laptop this post is highly recommended.

Thinking of buying a laptop? Read this first

Another Norton Bust

Yesterday I had the pleasure of uninstalling another copy of Norton Antivirus and replacing it with Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), my current favorite, recommended, and FREE antivirus and antispyware product.

This particular customer's machine had been infected by one of the ubiquitous rogue programs. His fully-paid-up Norton license did NOT protect him. This is at least the second time I have seen a customer let down by Norton, and it was my pleasure to download and install and run the Norton Removal Tool (thank you for this one good product Symantec!).

Coincidentally, this customer had recently received a notice that his Norton product would expire in a month, and would he please agree to pay $44 to get it renewed for another year. What gall they have.

If you have not yet made the switch, now's a good time to consider doing it.

Windows 7 is a Success, On Track to Overtake XP This Year

I still like Windows 7. It is easy for an experienced Windows XP user to adapt to its minor changes. Likewise for a Vista user. This article comes from maximumpc.com.

"Over the last year, Windows 7 has slowly, but steadily been gaining market share. Now perhaps we can all just get together and call it a huge success. According to some Google analytics data, Windows 7 has blown by Vista, and should surpass Windows XP by year's end. What we're talking about here are usage statistics for various websites, but this is indicative of what regular consumers are running.

In July, Microsoft announced that they had sold 175 million Windows 7 licenses. That amounts to 30 million per month. Still, when Microsoft talks about this, there's no joy, no self-congratulations. It wouldn't be prudent to talk up the platform too much, but consumers seem pleased with Windows 7. Microsoft has avoided reliving the PR nightmare that the Vista launch turned into.

All the data shows that Vista users are upgrading at an astounding rate. This in and of itself is odd. In the past, most users have just waited until they bought a new computer to get the new version of Windows. It could be a symptom of widespread dissatisfaction with Vista, but the quality of Windows 7 is also getting XP users to take the plunge. Did you step up to Windows 7 from XP? Tell us about your experience."

Read More

MVPS HOSTS File for August

Remember, this is a very good time to run Spybot - before downloading and updating the HOST file.


MVPS HOSTS File Update August-18-2010

The MVPS HOSTS file was recently updated [August-18-2010]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Download: hosts.zip (149 kb)
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip
How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS file
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts2.htm
HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hostsfaq.htm
Note: the "text" version makes a great resource for determining possible unwanted connections ...
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt (605 kb)

15 Things Every PC User Should Know

This is a very useful list of items from pcworld.com. I must say that I am a little disappointed that they didn't include "keep your desktop uncluttered". I work on some PCs that don't have room for another icon! Really. A cluttered desktop will slow down the startup process.

But I digress. Here's the article, worth your time for some good basic advice.

15 Things Every PC User Should Know

Vacation

I am in Maine and will be here all next week on vacation. I'll probably take the week off from blogging as well. I hope all of you readers are having a good summer. Hard to believe but people are talking "back to school" already.

Power Outage

I arrived in East Boothbay tonight at 10:45 PM and found that the power was out. My son informed me that power went out around 5 PM. Our cottage was lit by candles. The power came back on at about 11:20. I write this because we have the Time Warner version of their "Triple Play", the bundle that gives us TV, High Speed Internet, and Telephone. I was reminded that the TWC Cable Modem does not have a battery built in for backup. Thus we had no telephone.

I remember back in Vermont that Comcast had an 8 hour battery built in to their Cable Modem. With that one would still be able to make phone calls (in theory a least) with a phone attached to the modem, but I don't think I ever tested that out. Also, I never gave any thought to what kind of phone would work, if any. I guess maybe one of the old handsets. If true it might be a good idea to keep one of them around.

I mention this just as food for thought for all of you. If you are converting to one of the bundles, ask about backup and what else you would have to do to maintain telephone capability in the event of a power failure. I guess a PC directly attached via Cat 5 cable to the modem would work as long as the PC was a laptop running on its own battery.

A simple answer for most of you may be your cell phone, but I always manage to choose places to live that have no cell service available!

Tuning your system with the System Configuration Utility (MSCONFIG)

When I wrote up the accompanying document for this post, it was written for Windows XP. However, if you have Vista or Windows 7 you too will find this guide easy to follow and use. If something seems amiss it might be because you are using Vista or W7, but for the most part I think you'll find this guide something you can follow. One big change is that the referenced web site, Castlecops, is no longer available. If you do a Google search for STARTUP PROGRAMS you will find several other good web sites that will serve you well. Here is one: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

The System Configuration Utility, an easy to use program in Windows,  will take you one step closer to having a well-tuned Windows system. I use it every time I visit a customer's home or office as a part of my system tune-up process.

The System Configuration Utility in Windows XP

Cleaning & Tuning

Today was a good day for me. I found enough time to clean and tune my own (primary) machine! Rarely do I get such a luxury. I rely on my recommended security suite (http://pcdocsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/please-take-heed-and-secure-your-system.html)  to keep my machines safe from rogues and viruses and other malware, and they do a great job. Once a week I try to do a full scan with either Malwarebytes or SuperAntispyware. My MSE antivirus runs every night - a full scan - while I sleep.

But after some time has gone by it is always a good idea to do a focused and thorough cleaning and tuning, and today I did just that. I also reorganized my recent photos. It turns out that I had taken many hundreds of photos during July, so I created some sub-folders to further define the July photos.

Many of you have asked me about how to organize your photos. Here is what my photo library looks like (click on it for larger view):

If you want to know a program you can use to organize your photos, I'd recommend Picasa, but I do mine manually. I like being in control and programs like Picasa and others take that away from you. In those 10 years of photo folders I have 33,495 digital photos, mostly of family, and of course, these are all precious to me, so I back them up regularly. Like most other PC things, I do that myself too.

One thing I don't get to do each week is to run some of the utility programs within Tune-Up Utilities. I freed up disk space, I cleaned the registry, I defragged the registry, checked for broken shortcuts (there were none), ran CCleaner, and did general housekeeping tasks. I feel a lot better having a clean machine that I know is running at its optimum.

As you all know, I am available to perform this service for you if needed, but I take a lot of pride and get great satisfaction knowing that so many of you, who have been following me for years, can do the same for yourselves. It's very comforing knowing what you are doing, right?