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.