Outlook Question

I have a customer who, like me, uses Outlook for his e-mail. Note that I said Outlook and not Outlook Express. These are two different Microsoft products.

Outlook Express, known as Windows Mail in Vista, is a freebie that is an integrated part of the operating system. Outlook on the other hand, is a product that is a part of Microsoft's Office package, or at least some versions of Office.

The customer wanted to know how to back up his e-mail and even more importantly, his address book.

He was pleasantly surprised when I told him that in Outlook all of his e-mail and all of his contacts (address book) are kept within one file. I told him the name of the file (outlook.pst) and told him where to find it. He followed my directions, found the file, and copied it to his flash drive.

Backup of all e-mail and address book done in one, simple quick step!! If you have Outlook and don't back up this file and need some help, just write me.

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

I received this e-mail yesterday:

"Tom,

I'd like to provide you with a complimentary SUPERAntiSpyware Professional Edition license for your use and evaluation. Our software was launched 6 years ago and we currently protect over 15 million PCs worldwide. If you can provide me with an email address, I'll send along a complimentary license.

Thank you for your time!"

You readers know that I really like, have liked, the free version of SuperAntispyware, and that I recommend it for your use. The one feature of the Professional (paid) version that attracted me is the scheduling of scans. So I did go ahead and reply to the note and I did indeed get a return with a complimentary license code. I downloaded and installed it and ran my first automatic scan last night long after I was asleep.

I'll let you know how this goes.

Hats Off to the US Navy

CCleaner’s Registry Feature

I have never recommended, and I am NOT recommending now, the Registry feature of CCleaner. Registry Cleaning is not for the inexperienced, so beware and don't say you weren't warned about this.

CCleaner's Cleaner feature does an excellent job of cleaning your hard drive of unnecessary files, but I have never extensively tested their Registry feature. I therefore cannot recommend it to you. I use a registry cleaner program in my PCDoc business that is much more comprehensive and tested (by me) in many uses. Registry cleaning is something that is not recommended for the casual user, so be careful.

The Piriform company's CCleaner Cleaner feature does an excellent job of cleaning, but I am just not sure about their registry cleaning feature, so I suggest you leave that for the pros.

Microsoft Tech support likes Malwarebytes’ antispyware

I saw this article on Windows Secrets. I am quite happy with this because as those of you who are regular readers know, I am a big fan of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. It really is a wonderful product that does a great job of getting rid of the really bad guys, commonly known as rogue programs, as well as the less dangerous junk.

Don't be fooled into thinking, however, that one program like this is all you need. At the same level as this one product is SuperAntispyware. My experience has shown me that both are needed when fighting the rogue programs that have infected so many of your computers.

Please be sure to review my blog post of March 9 (below) titled Securing Your PC.

By the way, I see no need to buy the fee version of Anti-Malware.

Tech support likes Malwarebytes' antispyware

Recommendations continue to pour in from readers in response to Ryan Russell's March 26 Top Story on programs that should be considered for the WS Security Baseline. A letter from an anonymous Microsoft tech-support staffer caught our attention:

• "I read your newsletter and was disappointed by the offered antispyware listed. Spybot Search & Destroy was good back in the day, and so was Ad-Aware, but they aren't what they used to be. They're no longer effective, as the infection definition isn't being worked on as passionately as they had been.
  
  "I work for Microsoft technical support, and 90% of the calls are due to spyware infections, so we ask customers to download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. They have a totally free version. It's the one we use for clients. It's so effective, I feel confident the PC you're using to read this has infections. Are you surprised? Even if it's just minor adware, it's an infection still.
  
  "If it weren't for Malwarebytes.org, I'd be spending more time per call and asking customers to reload Windows more often, because finding one infection could take forever. ... The application is painless to install, isn't too bulky, and requires no reboot after install. The application is a winner all around.
  
  "The Internet is full of scams. It's shocking to see it day in and day out."
  

Ryan's story never discussed Ad-Aware and mentioned Spybot Search & Destroy only because readers nominated it as one of the few options that will run on creaky old Windows 95 systems. But it's good to be reminded that some programs that were once highly rated are no longer up to par.

The free version of Anti-Malware, the program the MS staffer recommends, allows you to perform manual scans for spyware on your system. For U.S. $24.95, you can unlock the program's real-time protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating. For more info, see Malwarebytes' download page.

The Future of Windows XP

Most all of you readers run Windows XP on your machines. There are two related articles on the ComputerWorld web site on XP that should be of interest to us all.

While the title of the first article may sound scary, fear not. As I have always indicated on this blog, if my hardware doesn't fail, I will most likely be using XP until 2014. The second article explains how we can continue to use it even past that year and into 2016.

The only thing that will change my mind is a really good new operating system from Microsoft. Vista is not that, and from what I have seen so far, Windows 7 is not going to be the one to change my mind either.

Microsoft moving XP into reduced-support phase on Tuesday

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years

IT pros prefer old XP over new Windows 7, survey says

Virus Infects Vt. State Computers

Hard for me to believe. This is from WCAX.com. Why haven't they been reading my blog?!

Montpelier, Vermont - April 13, 2009

An outbreak of a computer virus forced the Vt. Agency of Human Services to shut down its computer systems. State computer experts are working on the problem to get departments back online.

They've been working on the problem all weekend and were still at it Monday night.

Because technicians cut the Agency's computers off from the rest of state government, it appears the virus was contained.

"This was a new virus previously not identified," said Rob Hofmann, the secretary of the Vt. Agency of Human Services.

The unnamed computer virus was designed to disrupt operations in large organizations, like corporations or state governments.

The virus was detected on Friday on a handful of computers within the Agency of Human Services. AHS includes a variety of departments handling everything from prisons to public health.

But it does not appear any personal information was lost or accessed. The virus instead confuses and slows computers and shuts down anti-virus software.

"We voluntarily brought down the system to prevent one computer from infecting another computer," Hofmann explained.

The servers were shut down over the weekend while a computer security company developed a cure for the virus.

"We know the servers are clean. The virus eradicated and we're working with the couple of thousand computers to make sure each is brought online," Hofmann said.

2,500 computers-- brought online one by one.

The immediate shutdown appears to have prevented the virus from attacking computers in other parts of state government. Technicians are closely monitoring computer systems to be certain. And Hofmann says other organizations should do so too.

"One area of concern is our nonprofit partners with whom we work no reports of problems but advise them to make sure anti-virus software up to date," Hofmann said.

Hofmann says services under his agency continue-- perhaps a bit more slowly while this is going on. He says instead of using the agency's computer network it's back to pen and paper, faxes and phone calls for now to make sure clients are still served. The agency is hopeful that all 2,500 computers will be back online by Tuesday night.

At first the virus that hit looked a lot like the computer worm Conficker that we've heard about. But computer experts now say it is not. It's a new virus. And again, security companies already have a way to get rid of it.

Happy Easter

Play Google's official Easter Egg game.

Google egg-drop game

Your Opinion

I am taking a brief break from blogging to spend time with family.

I am very interested in hearing your opinion of this blog. Do you find it helpful?

Please take a minute to provide me your feedback. You can write to me at pcdoc@brpcdoc.com.

Happy Easter all.

Flash Drives

Flash drives, aka thumb drives, are a terrific and inexpensive way to transport data from one machine to another. If I come to your home on a service call I will always plug in my flash drive and copy the tools I use to clean and tune a system onto your PC.

You can use it to carry all of your photos to the grandkids' house or better yet, copy all of your kids' pictures of the grandkids to your thumb drive before you leave their house!!

These devices are also an easy and inexpensive way to back up your valuable data like photos, music, word documents and spreadsheets. My only concern in relying on flash drives for backup is that I am not sure how long they will last, and I worry about that. That's why I have a 1TB external hard drive for backup.

Yesterday I upgraded my largest flash drive. I have had an 8GB drive for some time but purchased a 16GB flash drive at Costco. It was priced at $39 and I had a $7 coupon. Look for sales and buy yourself the largest flash drive you can. Yes, use it for short-term backup of your valuable data, but think about investing in a large external USB-connected hard drive for that. I think my Western Digital 1TB drive was priced at around $130 at Costco yesterday. I noticed that they now have a 1.5TB drive as well!

Please get serious about backing up your data. You will be glad you did.

Defraggler

Piriform (http://www.piriform.com/) is the name of the company that has brought us CCleaner, an amazing free product that I hope all of you are using weekly. I just ran my weekly CCleaner and it took 30 seconds or less. That's all it takes if you do it regularly.

Piriform also has some other free utility programs, and I had heard recently about their Defraggler program. Also free, it is a program that just does one thing: defragments a hard drive. I downloaded it yesterday and installed it (amazingly fast install of about 15 seconds). I then proceeded to defrag my 250GB main hard drive and was NOT impressed. It was not faster than Microsoft's built-in disk defragmenter, although for the time I could stand to do so, it was more fun to watch!

After running it I ran the Analyze portion of the XP built-in defragment program and it found 15 fragmented files. Hmmmm. I guess we need a better definition of what a fragmented file is.

In any case, I do not recommend Defraggler but if you want to try it yourself, it can be quickly and easily downloaded and run. The reason that I am not recommending it for now is that it buys you nothing when compared to what you already have, and why add yet another program to your system if it gains you nothing?

Which reminds me: have you defragmented your hard drive lately? You should do this at least once a quarter.

No reason to rush your upgrade to IE 8

This is a good article for the techies amongst you who may have an interest in the latest release of Internet Explorer (IE) from Microsoft.

As for me, I don't recommend the upgrade, and I don't even recommend IE at all, but prefer Firefox.

No reason to rush your upgrade to IE 8

AVG Anti-Virus Free Version 8.5

I downloaded and installed AVG Anti-Virus Free Version 8.5 tonight on 2 machines. Note it is still FREE! It went in quite easily, replacing the Version 8.0 I already had. I was glad to see that the Link Scanner is an option. This feature is the one that gives you green checkmarks next to okay web sites when you do a Google search, for example, and view the search results. Opting out of the Link Scanner  as I did (it was integrated in Version 8.0 and not optional) should make Google searches faster. I never really even saw anything but green checkmarks anyway all the time I had Version 8.0 installed.

This new version is a 60MB file to be downloaded, so may take a while for you dial-up and DSL users.

You can get it here if you want to try it out, however, I would recommend waiting a month or more until all the kinks are ironed out. Click on the Download Now green icon here:

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5.285 

While I have your attention, ………………

The hit count on this blog - down at the bottom of this page - shows that you received my e-mail and have visited here to check out the post just below this one, so, while I have your attention, let me make a few other suggestions.

Today, the day before CONFICKER is rumored to cause some widespread mayhem, would be a great day to take some other precautions. It's a good time to do a full system scan using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, SuperAntispyware, and Spybot, and while you are at it, a full system scan with your anti-virus program, in my case AVG Free.

Before you start the full scans, be sure to update each one to ensure that it has the latest definitions. Become very familiar and comfortable with each of these programs so that on any given day you can run a manual scan.

If you have not received my e-mail re. Conficker, and wish to be on my mailing list, please contact me using the "Contact the PC Doc" link just to the right of this post and ask to be added to my list.

An Ounce of Prevention

I was reminded about this April 1 rumor when I read Kim Komando this AM. She writes: "Conficker is the latest horror show, and it’s coming your way. It certainly sounds scary. An estimated 12 million computers have been infected. The virus is currently dormant. But it’s programmed to do something on April 1.

Does anyone know what the something is? Nope. Conficker has essentially built a massive and powerful botnet. But nobody knows what this army of infected computers will do. It could spread spam or cyberterrorism. Or it could be an elaborate prank (activating on April Fool’s Day)."

The ounce of prevention you can take is to manually download the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool and run  a FULL SCAN. On my machine this morning it ran for almost 2 and a half hours.  You can download it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

The tool found no problems on my machine. I also use the 8 free tools listed two posts below in the Einstein post, so I did not expect there to be any problems.

I strongly recommend you do the same: use my "Big 8" recommended free tools and download the above program from Microsoft. Do it today and run it today. Let it run to completion. I hope no problems are found on your machine, but if they are, and if you need help, give me a call at 802-899-4541.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!




Here are a couple of screen shots from my run this AM:

IE8

I received an e-mail this morning from Microsoft with this news:



I am not a fan of Internet Explorer and use Firefox instead. I do not recommend the download to anyone at this time. I am making this post just as a FYI. I may download it in a test environment sometime (not soon) to test it out and report on it here, but I doubt it'll ever be on my list of favorite applications.

Unfortunately, as is their wont, Microsoft will undoubtedly include it in their automatic updates. If/when I find out that is happening, I will alert you all so that you can prevent the installation from happening on your machine. (I still recommend IE6.)

Securing your PC

1. Windows Defender


2. Windows Firewall


3.  CCleaner


4. AVG Anti-virus Free Edition


5. MVPS HOSTS File


6. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware


7.  SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition


8. Spybot Search & Destroy

These are all free products. I strongly recommend and use them all. Use them and keep your system up and running smoothly and without security issues. Each of these products is covered in earlier blog posts.

5 Great Technology Bargains

This is an interesting and timely PC World article. If you are in the market for a new desktop, I really like their number 1 item, a Dell desktop. Note that my Netbook is the number 2 item of their 5. As noted in other posts, do get the 6 hour battery if this lightweight machine appeals to you. This version costs $399 and also includes a larger hard drive of 160GB. I bought mine on Amazon.

The other 3 items making up this list of 5 are a printer, camera, and TV.

5 Great Technology Bargains

Happy Anniversary to ME!

I just realized that I missed my anniversary (typical male thing, right?). I am talking about the first anniversary of this blog. I began it on February 12, 2008.

I had thought I'd try to post something every weekday, but that has proven to be an impossible task. I'll keep trying, however.

I just browsed through all of my posts to the beginning and realize that this is a real treasure trove of good stuff for your average PC user. I have never tried to include stuff that is too technical, but rather that which applies to most of my customers and the people I know.

I hope you get the chance to look in now and again and to browse the posts that you have missed.

Yet another repository for Chittenden County folks for old computers

Looks like those of us who live in Chittenden County have another option when it comes to ridding ourselves of our computer junk! I have already posted below about Goodwill. Now the CSWD is involved. Someone must have found a less expensive way to extract the gold from the old clunkers and with gold at such a high price, .........? Tongue in cheek, but maybe not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREE computer & electronics round up coming to Williston Sat., March 7!  If your TV is kaput and your computer no longer boots up, you can give them both the boot -- literally -- at the FREE CSWD ELECTRONICS ROUND UP on Saturday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Williston Drop-Off Center (off Mountain View, at the end of Redmond Road). The same goes for your old printer, that stereo that you lost your hearing to in college, and any other electronics that you need to dispose of. Among items accepted are computers, printers, modems, and other peripherals, TVs, stereos, phones, CD/DVD/MP3/Tape players, typewriters, and media for electronics, such as tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc. Click here for a complete list. No appliances will be accepted at this round up. NOTE: This round up is open to all households, including those outside of Chittenden County; business electronics will not be accepted. This free round up is sponsored by Samsung and CRT Processing. Usually, the Chittenden Solid Waste District charges fees to accept electronics at its Drop-Off Centers, due to the cost of recycling them. For example, a TV would normally cost $5-$15; a computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse costs $8.50. But for one day only--and only at the Williston Drop-Off Center--it's free! CSWD collects about 600,000 pounds of electronics from Chittenden County businesses and residents each year. The fees we charge don't cover the entire $100,000 that it costs for us to handle them. Samsung, CRT Processing, and CSWD are partnering to shoulder the cost of this round up. Electronics can contain a host of hazardous materials that are banned from the landfill. For example, TVs and CRT computer monitors alone can contain mercury, cadmium, barium, dioxins, and several pounds of lead. The good news is that these toxins, as well as more benign recyclable materials, can be harvested and either disposed of in an environmentally sound fashion or reused to make new products. Many people are getting new TVs due to the analog-to-digital switcheroo that occurred earlier this month. With a digital converter box, your working TV will most likely still be able to pick up a clear signal (click here for info on how to go about getting a converter box). For more information, visit www.cswd.net; call 872-8111; e-mail info@cswd.net.

Netbooks: All About the New Ultraportables

I am happy to see that my Acer Aspire One Netbook that I bought quite some time ago is still among the leaders in this field. My wife is the primary user. She has excellent eyesight and has little trouble with the small screen. She loves the light weight which makes it easy to carry when traveling. I bought the 6 hour battery right out of the gate, and it really does give a full 6 hours. This normally equates to a full day's use if it is set to go into Standby when the cover is closed, as I have done.

Netbooks: All About the New Ultraportables

Bank account hacking is on the rise

Let this UPI article serve as a reminder that we need to be very careful. Protect your PC with a quality security software suite and run malware checkers and a full antivirus scan at least once a week.

Bank account hacking is on the rise

Hackers jump on newest IE7 bug

Once again users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) web browser are exposed to hackers. Most hackers target IE because of its widespread use. This article is from ComputerWorld today and can be found at this link.

I have IE7 installed on only one machine, and that is because I need to have a machine for understanding what you folks are up against. I have IE6 installed on my other machines, and have long recommended against all of you installing IE7. I have even included a post somewhere below this one that instructs on how to remove IE7 and return to IE6.

Still, I recommend against any of you using IE at all, whether IE7 or IE6, except in those cases where it may be required.

I recommend the Firefox browser, but there is nothing wrong with Netscape or Safari. All three are fine browsers and are a lot safer than any version of Internet Explorer.

Lavasoft AdAware

I have rarely run AdAware in the past few months, but thought I'd give it a try the other day just to see if it might find something the others didn't.  In the process of updating the definitions file (I thought), Lavasoft downloaded a new version of the program which was, as I recall, The Anniversary Edition, or something like that. It was still free, but I found the user interface to be even more complex than AdAware had been, and it never was the best. I ran it and it found several very trivial files it recommended I not bother deleting. Strange. I interpreted this to mean that they found nothing, but felt  they had to say something after taking up so much of my time. Ridiculous.

Bottom line, I have uninstalled Lavasoft AdAware and will not use it again. There is simply no need to use this superfluous product when my top three spyware products are all free and do a better job.  Actually, a far better job.

Good news for VT computer users

Goodwill in Williston offers FREE computer recycling


Is your dead computer collection crowding out your Foosball table? Wish you had room in your closet for clothing rather than CPUs gone kaput? Load it all up and bring it to Goodwill (329 Harvest Lane, Williston, 879-0088; Mon-Sat 9-5; Sun 10-5), which will accept any brand of computer for free! Here's what you can bring:

CPUs, monitors, laptops, cords, keyboards, mice, scanners, printers, fax machines, and computer parts.

This is an on-going program developed in partnership with Dell.

FileHippo.com Update Checker

This is a slick (and free) small application that once installed does its job quickly & thoroughly. I like it a lot and have used the information it provides to update some of the pograms on my laptop.

If you decide to try it, remember that you don't have to upgrade every program identified. As one example, I would not upgrade my copy of Internet Explorer 6.

The contents of the web page is displayed below, or you can simply click here to see it on the FileHippo web site, where you will be certain to see the latest information.

 FileHippo.com Update Checker

 

Welcome to the new FileHippo.com Update Checker!
We're currently beta testing this exciting new addition to our website and have released it as a public beta for everyone to download.

Update Checker v1.030 FHSetup.exe (153kb) Download nowNote: If you wish to download the standalone version without an installer then click here.

What is it?
The Update Checker will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to FileHippo.com to see if there are any newer releases. These are then neatly displayed in your browser for you to download.

But it gets better...
The client is FREE, just over 100kb to download and only takes seconds to run! In fact on our test machines the process is complete in under 2 seconds!

What are the requirements?
The Update Checker works on any Windows PC running Vista, XP, 2003, 2000, ME or 98.
It requires that the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is installed, which you may download directly from here, or the installer will prompt and download it automatically.

Changes
Version 1.030
Compatibility fixes and better proxy support.
Version 1.029
Minor bug fixes and Google Chrome support.
Version 1.028
Fixes for non-English systems and permissions changes.
Version 1.025
Various bug fixes and performance improvements. Plus new internal scanning features.
Version 1.023
Fixed bugs in ignore list and improved speed. Plus many internal improvements.
Version 1.022
Adds better Internet connection support, advanced options and bug fixes.
Version 1.021
Adds system tray icon checking in the background. (Simply run the new installer or use the "/background" command-line parameter.)
Additionally you can now ignore updates and programs that you don't want to be informed about!

Privacy Policy
The Update Checker will not send any personal information back to FileHippo.com. The only information collected is a list of programs and their versions, along with the operating system details to help with processing. Additionally none of this is linked to your IP address and the logs are deleted after processing.

Windows XP SP3

I have finally gotten around to installing Windows XP SP3. I just installed it on my Acer TravelMate 4220 laptop. It installed without any hitches, and the system seems to be running fine. I imagine this will be the last service pack for XP, support for which will end in 2014. While I expect XP to last just fine until then, the real trick will most likely be keeping the hardware going that long!

I have not heard of any problems installing XP SP3 since its early days when there was a problem on HP PCs that had AMD microprocessors. If I had one of those machines now, I'd check the HP web site to make sure there are no remaining issues before I installed SP3.

I still see no reason for installing Internet Explorer 7 or subsequent releases. I am happy with Mozilla's Firefox for now.

HOSTS File - Post # 5

Register for HOSTS File Update Notices

The author of the HOSTS file you just installed maintains the file and updates it with current information. I get every new updated HOSTS file and install it immediately. The reason is simple: to protect my system against the latest threats, and I know of no better tool than this one.

When updates are made available you will get an e-mail informing you of the latest. The e-mail will contain a link to download the latest guess what?, hosts.zip file!

To register to get the update e-mails, simply send an e-mail to:

winhelp2002 at comcast.net (you should use the @ sign with no spaces)

In the subject field simply put mailing list and click on Send.

That is it. You are now protected by the latest HOSTS file and will be notified when the next update is released.

Please write me with any questions you may have at pcdoc at brpcdoc.com

HOSTS File - Post # 4

There are a couple of more steps to go. In this post we will do only one of them to keep things simple. When you read post # 1 and read the web site linked to, you saw the section about disabling DNS Services. Here is how to do that in XP:

1) Click on START, then RUN, then key in services.msc and click on OK.

2) In the Services window that comes up as a result of 1 above, scroll down until you see  DNS Client. Highlight it by clicking on it just once.

3) Now right click on it and select Properties. In the resulting window, change the Startup Type to DISABLED.

4) Click on APPLY and then OK.

5) Restart your system.

HOSTS File - Post # 3

If you have already followed steps 1 and 2 below, than you now have an icon on your desktop that looks something like this:

 

Next I want you to right click on that icon on your desktop and select "Open With". Then select "Compressed (zipped) Folders". You will then see a window appear that looks like this:

Okay, getting close! What you are looking at is the contents of the zipped (or compressed) folder. The files within it, all 5, are also zipped (compressed). Here is what I want you to do. Click on two of these files, one at a time, and drag them to your desktop. The two files are HOSTS and mvps.bat.

The dragging process will take longer than you'd think because the files will be unzipped in the process. Be patient. Once you click and drag the HOSTS file to your desktop it might take a minute before the HOSTS file, uncompressed (unzipped) will appear on your desktop.

Now you have these 2 files, HOSTS and mvps.bat unzipped and sitting on your desktop. You can close the hosts.zip folder window now.

Double-click on the mvps.bat icon on your desktop. In just a second you will see a window looking like this:

Simply hit your Enter key and the window will close. You now have a new HOSTS file and you are protected.

Stay tuned for the next, and last post in this process.

There are a couple of other things to do before you are finished, but do breathe a sigh of relief because you have the HOSTS file in place and it is working for you right now!

While waiting for the next post do a little cleanup. Delete the 3 icons on your desktop: hosts.zip, HOSTS, and mvps.bat. You no longer need them.

FileHippo.com Update Checker

I frequently use FileHippo.com as a download site, especially when I want an older version of a program, and not the most current one. Yesterday I was on their site and noticed that they have a FREE utility program called FileHippo.com Update Checker. I read a little about it and decided to try it. Once downloaded you can run it at will and it will scan your system and let you know of any programs you have installed that may be out of date. I ran the program and learned that my versions of CCleaner, SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, and Spybot were all out of date, i.e., there was a newer version available. The program will let you downoad the latest version, and for these 4 that is just what I did.

I had others that were out of date, bue elected not to upgrade them for various reasons. Those of you who follow this blog know very well why I updated the 4 programs mentioned above.

As always, when downloading and installing programs, PLEASE read each page before clicking on Next. Be sure you aren't also downloading a Yahoo Toolbar or other such worthless programs. These companies have deals whereby one will support, and try to get installed ($$), useless add-ons from the other company.

 FileHippo.com Update Checker

HOSTS File - Post # 2

Okay, by now if you are interested in following along, you have read the "assignment" in Post # 1.

About a third of the way down that page you should see the following:

To view the HOSTS file in plain text form. (610 kb) (opens in IE)
Note: The text version also makes a terrific reference for determining possible unwanted sites
Download: hosts.zip [right-click - Select: Save Target As] [Updated January-08-2009]

You are now ready to move forward. I want you to download the hosts.zip file. Download it to your desktop or at least know where it is going when you download it.  All you have to do is click on the blue hosts.zip which is just to the right of the word Download. Remember for now all I want you to do is SAVE it on your desktop (or elsewhere). Do not attempt to open it. Once you download it successfully, keep it there and look for post # 3.

HOSTS File - Post # 1

I have blogged a lot about the need for using a HOSTS file as an integral and important part of your security package protecting you from the bad guys out there. Until now I have not posted any blog entries explaining what a HOSTS file does, how to get one, and how to maintain it so that you get protection that is up-to-date.

The reason for this is that this is a pretty technical topic, and normally I just get to install a HOSTS file on your computers when you are a customer and I have access to your machine. It's probably best that you have a pro install and explain this to you and also to perform a couple of related steps.

However, for those of you out there who are technically competent and who would like to try to install your own HOSTS file, I will post a series of posts on the subject, and hence the title of this post as being # 1.

This is one thing that a HOSTS file can do for you: prevent web sites that are named in the HOSTS file from being accessed.  This is BIG, because many of the viruses and rogue programs out there are downloaded by you through your web browser. So, if there were a central clearing house for identifying those bad sites and if it would also include all of them in a HOSTS file, wouldn't that be great? Well, it turns out there is, and this is really good news for us all! Another piece of good news: it's free!

I will do two things: First, I will make a special offering to my customers to install a HOSTS file for you over a remote connection, meaning I will take control of your PC while you watch and listen (over a phone), and I will install and explain the HOSTS file to you. I will charge a flat fee of $75 for this service.

Second, for those of you who feel pretty good about your level of competency in the technical aspects of Windows XP (yes, it works in Vista too, but I plan to start with XP users), I will post this series of items explaining how to DIY.

If you wish to proceed on a DIY basis, or if you'd just like to follow along, here is your first assignment:

Read everything on this page, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm,  and read it again!

After reading, take a look at the current HOSTS file provided on this page by displaying it in your browser. You can do this by clicking here: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt

This might be an overstatement, I am just not sure, but I have come to believe that the use of this HOSTS file is the most important factor in preventing my systems from becoming infected with any of the rogue programs currently wreaking havoc on many of your systems.

Don’t Pay for It!

Alomst all of the software I recommend is free. Don't pay for it! I realize that many companies offer a "Professional" version of the recommended software, but you don't need it. Just get the FREE version, and make sure that what you are downloading either has the word FREE in the title or otherwise specifies that it is free.

If you have any questions about this, please write.

PLEASE!

Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust

To me the real good news in this article is that those of us who have managed to avoid going to Vista will be able to bypass it completely. The most interesting comment to me in this Walter Mossberg article is this: "In many respects, Windows 7 isn’t a radical shift from Vista, but is more of an attempt to fix Vista’s main flaws." I guess we can't expect more than that from Microsoft, which is not known for moving fast!

Even in Test Form, Windows 7 Leaves Vista in the Dust

Hail to the Chief!

Three Ways to Make iTunes Run Faster

This comes to us from PCWorld's web site. I am somewhat surprised to see that most of my customers' machines have iTunes installed, so maybe this will be helpful? I have not heard any of you complain about iTunes performance, but I guess that's because I am usually addressing more serious matters on your computers.

article written by Rick Broida

Jan 15, 2009 2:03 pm

I think I'm safe in saying that iTunes is the single slowest application on my PC. It not only takes a week or two just to start up, but also seems to pause indefinitely on simple tasks like switching between different sections of the iTunes Store.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to goose iTunes, to make it a little less pokey than usual. I'm not promising a dramatic speed increase, just somewhat more efficient operation.

First, turn off Genius by clicking Store, Turn Off Genius. (Note that doing so will delete all collected Genius data.) It's a neat feature, but I've noticed that it seems awfully "busy" at times. Anything that's demanding iTunes' attention is also hurting its performance. I never thought it was that smart, anyway.

Second, click Edit, Preferences, Sharing, and then disable Look for shared libraries and Share my library on the local network. Whenever there's ongoing network activity, you can count on a performance hit. Of course, if you are sharing your iTunes library, skip this step.

Finally, switch over to the Apple TV tab and disable Look for Apple TVs (unless you have one, of course). It's another case of superfluous network activity that can only hurt performance.

Have you found any other ways to give iTunes a kick in the pants? Or have you kicked it to the curb? As an iPhone user I'm kinda stuck with it, so I sure wish Apple would do some fine-tuning. Sorry, but I ain't gonna buy a Mac just to get a better-optimized iTunes.

The above article can be found at:

Three Ways to Make iTunes Run Faster

Another Spyware Guard 2008 rogue incident

Yesterday I spent quite a few hours removing yet another incident of Spyware Guard 2008 (see December 18 blog post below). This is one of the family of vicious rogue programs that is wrecking systems all over the place.

In this case I was pretty much able to tell that it was acquired from a rather bad web site. If you have kids in the house who just don't understand the dangers that are lurking out there, you need to talk to them about the risks they are taking by visiting web sites they should not be visiting.

It took my whole arsenal of weapons to get rid of it. I needed Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, SuperAntispyware, Spybot, AVG Free Anti-virus, MSCONFIG, CCleaner, and a couple of other tools that I don't recommend for general users, like HijackThis and Tune-Up Utilities. For future defensive reasons on this particular customer system, I downloaded and installed Windows Defender and the HOSTS file I preach about so much.

As for the latter, I will soon post an item on how to get, install, and use the HOSTS file. This is a very important and integral part of what should be your defense against the bad guys out there.

In the meantime, be careful of the places you go and the things you download.

Hate Microsoft Outlook? Top 10 annoyances and how to fix them

Do you process your e-mail with Microsoft's Outlook? Outlook is a part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft's Outlook Express is a freebie that comes with Windows XP, and this excellent column from ComputerWorld addresses Outlook, not Outlook Express. Furthermore, the article addresses Outlook 2007, and many of you who use Outlook may not have upgraded to this latest version.

For those of you who have Outlook 2007, like me, and for those of you who like technical challenges, this article will be very helpful. I have not been through all 10 areas covered, but was impressed by those I have looked at.

Hate Microsoft Outlook? Top 10 annoyances and how to fix them

Windows 7 Review from ComputerWorld

There has been a lot of noise lately about the replacement for the Vista operating system from Microsoft. To date it has been dubbed Windows 7. I have no interest in it at this time, other than to follow its progress, but thought that some of you may be hearing about it and wondering.  It is in Beta test now, and it's possible we will see it delivered in 2009, but I see no reason for anyone to be anxious to use it. I am sure if Microsoft has its way, Windows 7, or whatever they ultimately name it, will be installed on machines in time for Christmas.

Anyway, ComputerWorld has a nice review of it in the linked article appearing today on their web site.

Windows 7 Beta Review

Managing the Health of your Flash Drive(s)

I use several flash or thumb drives, and I use them a lot. I have learned over time that it pays to treat these drives like other disk drives, meaning you need to worry about their health, and treat them to a defrag once in a while. If you have never done this, try it and see how badly (or not) fragmented it is, and defrag if you see lots of red.

Because flash drives are smaller, this takes very little time and protects your data and the health of your flash drive. I also recommend running a Check Disk (chkdsk) on these as well. They take a real beating and can develop problems just like a hard drive does. The chkdsk is only two phases and also is much quicker than a hard drive chkdsk.

SeniorNet of Vermont

For those of you in Vermont there is a tremendous opportunity for you to learn more about computers right in South Burlington. The SeniorNet Center of Vermont is located in The Pines, just off of Dorset Street.

The SeniorNet Center offers an extensive array of seminars (usually 3 hours long and usually just $10) and courses (usually 15 hours over 5 weeks and just $45). A varied menu is offered 6 times a year from September through May. The classroom is a hands-on environment with each student having his/her own computer to use during the class meetings.

Instructors are all volunteers, many retired from local VT companies and all are well-versed in their subject matter.

If you are  a Senior Vermonter (50 or 0ver), I encourage you to visit this web site and add it to your Favorites or Bookmarks.  After doing that sign up for a seminar or a course. I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

SeniorNet of Vermont

Can I still buy a new computer with Windows XP?

I get asked this question from time to time, and the answer is YES, you can. I have only done this with Dell but a while back other manufacturers were doing the same thing, and probably still are.

Here is an exchange of 3 e-mails with a customer starting with his first inquiry:

Customer inquiry

 

We were here to see xxxxxxx’s computer crash.  I went on Dell's website and found one I like but I have questions that the chat room person was vague about.  First, I don't want Vista and have a startup disk for XP on my old Dell.  If I erased the C drive on the new computer could I install the XP program?  Would the drivers work? Would I have to buy a new XP disks?  Their Vista comes with a Service Pack 1.  Could that have solved the incompatability with older programs?

 

My reply

 

If you will go to Dell.com and enter the section called “SMALL & MEDIUM BUSINESS”, almost immediately you will be presented with the $99 option to have Windows XP installed on your new machine. The Vostro line offered there is a fine choice. I would recommend doing this – for you. Not only does your machine come with XP installed, but you also get a Vista license and install DVDs, so should you ever opt for Vista, you have it.

 

This summer I ordered a laptop for xxxxxx xxxxxx  in this way, and it worked fine and the last I heard she is very happy with her machine. Naturally it came configured for Vista, meaning it had lots of RAM and a large HDD, all good things for you too. I do not believe that we were ever asked to name the business for which we were ordering, but just put in her name. If you have to have a business name (now), you already have a few of them!

 

I would not recommend the method you proposed of using an old Windows XP installation disk precisely for the reason you mentioned: drivers. You would have to go to dell.com and try to find drivers for XP for the new hardware. That could prove to be a very tough job. My way you get a fine XP system already installed and tested, and all for only $99. It would take you many, many frustrating hours to get the same if you elected to try yourself. You don’t want to do this for a new machine.

 

As always, get the fastest processor money will allow, get at least 2GB of RAM, and get the largest HDD you can afford. I wouldn’t worry too much about the size of the HDD since I recommend an external drive anyway for long-term backup storage. These can be 1TB and moved from machine to machine.

 

Hope this helps?

 

His reply to me after a week or so

 

We did buy a powerful Dell Vostro 420.  It comes with XP and an optional change to Vista.  I read that Microsoft is coming out with Windows 7 later this year.  Thank you for your consultation.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

I wish each and every one of you a Happy & Healthy New Year in 2009!

I will resume regular posts on this blog on Monday, 1/5.

Tom