Verizon Wireless Response

In my last post, Take Back the Beep, I indicated that the blog post I was referencing included a way to contact one's wireless provider. I followed the link and wrote to Verizon. They responded quickly, indicating to me that they have a canned response to what has probably become a popular complaint. Their reply is below. I encourage you to consider doing the same, i.e., write your provider. I have not yet tried the suggestions Verizon provided, but I plan to soon.







Good Morning,

 

Thank you for writing. The voice mail instructions are there to assist the many callers who may be unfamiliar with the correct prompts, including advanced options such as review or re-record message or mark urgent. However, there are steps you can take to control the length of your greeting and to speed callers through the voice mail greeting.

 

In a customized greeting, you can inform callers up front to skip the rest of the instructions by pressing *. (For example: “This is John. To skip the rest of this greeting and leave a message please press *).

 

You can remove the last line of the instructions (“to leave a callback number, press 5”), by using Administrative Options in your voice mail menu.

 

You can customize your greeting so it is shorter for callers.

 

You can also use our automated language, inserting your name only to shorten your message.

 

You can remove your voice mail feature by calling customer service.

 

Verizon Wireless is committed to satisfying our customers. We listen to our customers and appreciate any feedback on our services. Please visit verizonwireless.com http://support.vzw.com/how_to_use/basic_voice_mail.html to learn more about using our voice mail system and other Verizon Wireless features. Thank you for using Verizon Wireless.

 

Sincerely,

 

Verizon Wireless

 

Customer Service

‘Take Back the Beep’ Campaign

Here is a very interesting blog post. You know how when you call someone's cell phone and you have to listen to 15 seconds from the provider about what you can do and how you can do it? Wel, here's a guy who is trying to move forward an effort to get the providers to eliminate that expensive overhead that we all are paying. He also provides the web sites for filing an objection to your own provider. I just sent one to Verizon. Spread the word. This eats up an awful lot of extra minutes.

http://tinyurl.com/m8c7v5

AVG Free Annoyance

AVG has been at it again, sending their annoying pop-ups our way (see below). I checked in the AVG Free forum and read that it is a summer promotion and is not expected to last for a long time, so persevere and just click on the red box with the X in it to get rid of the ad. The product, AVG Free, continues to perform well, but remember that you need more than just this one product to keep your system trouble-free.

40 Fantastic Time-Wasting Web Sites

Okay, I apologize in advance. I know this really doesn't belong here, but it may be fun for some of you!

40 Fantastic Time-Wasting Web Sites

For Some, Move To Windows 7 Will Be Tough

This is a real eye-opener brought to us by Walt Mossberg from his web site at http://walt.allthingsd.com/.

It is hard for me to believe that Microsoft would be so dumb as to make it virtually impossible for a Windows XP user to migrate to the new Windors 7. Perhaps it is because they want us all to buy new machines, which will make their hardware partners happy?

Whatever the reason, they are likely to find many users opting to ride out the next 5 years with Windows XP.

 For Some, Move To Windows 7 Will Be Tough

Reboot? Wal-Mart hopes deals make it a ‘laptop destination’

This USA Today story appeared yesterday. Wal-Mart is worth a look!

"Wal-Mart (WMT) hopes to reboot the retail market for computers Sunday by selling beefy laptops for less than you'd pay for a pint-size netbook.

The retail giant is stepping up itscampaign to become a more prominent PC retailer, a move that could accelerate a broader trend toward lower computer prices."

The entire article can be found here

It’s Official: Windows 7 Goes RTM

From PcWorld.com:

"Microsoft has announced this afternoon that Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing. In other words, Windows 7 development has wrapped up, and it'll now go on to PC manufacturers so they can prepare for October's Windows 7 launch."

All aboard (or not)!

Read the whole article here

Computers: How well can we function without them?

Below is the Editorial column from the weekly Boothbay Register of July 16, 2009.

The reason I post it here is that it brings home the point that I make here - repeatedly: We all need to ensure that we have a good backup plan for our own personal computers. This includes maintaining backup copies of all of our pictures, music, text documents, spreadsheets, business files, favorites/bookmarks, e-mail, and so on.

All too often I am called by a customer to help them after they have lost some or all of their precious data. I think the easiest way to do this is to purchase an external hard drive, the larger the better. These, like Western Digital's MyBook, attach simply via a spare USB port. They need not be online all the time; only when you want to make a backup or access backed-up data.

Amazon, and probably others, currently has a sale on the 1TB, that's one terabyte or 1000 billion characters of storage for $119. That is a good buy for a good product. It is what I use. It is large enough to satisfy my backup storage needs for a long time.

So make yourself a plan to backup your data regularly and look around for a device you can use to do that. Here is the editorial:

COMPUTERS: How well can we function without them?

We don’t know about you, but we find the world’s heavy dependence upon computers a bit disconcerting. Granted, that’s probably because we were trained in the old school. You know, the one with manual typewriters, and reading, ’riting and ’rithmatic done the old-fashioned way without benefit of a calculator. You were expected to know that 8 times 8 was 64, even if there was no calculator around to tell you, and to figure how many times 7 would go into 100 without pushing buttons to find the answer.

It’s not that we don’t appreciate the tremendous convenience that the modern-day world offers, it’s just that we get nervous when we see what happens if a computer-dependent system fails. Nearly every business in America feels the impact. Food markets and department stores come to a standstill. Gasoline pumps are out of commission.

What concerns us the most is not so much the inconvenience which results, so much as the potential for serious consequences. Case in point: the Web site attacks of last week which impacted many of our government offices. It’s frightening to think about our nation’s dependency upon computers, and how well we could function (or not!) if they failed. Our ships, planes, and other means of defense rely on computers for nearly everything, and, while last week’s cyber-assault didn’t hurt national security directly (or so they say), just think about what it could have done! We don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to computer skills; our enemies have them, too.

Knowing how ill-prepared most folks seem to be when their computers go on the blink, we can’t help but wonder how our national security system would work if we had to go back to the defense methods before the computer age.

It would be interesting to experiment a bit, wouldn’t it, just to better prepare ourselves. In our own office, we used to joke when our computer system went on the blink, or the power failed. After all, our manual typewriter still worked. Unfortunately, technology has come too far, and, like most other places, we’d find ourselves behind the eight ball.

Think about it in your own situation. What’s your own back-up plan? Even more important, how well can our nation (and many others, as well) fare if their computer systems fail? Like we said, it’s enough to make us more than a little bit nervous.

Mary Brewer

Windows 7 Release Candidate

I received this e-mail today. Note the October 22 date. FYI, I did NOT install the Beta version even though I downloaded it at the time.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Notice: Downloads will end August 20 Thanks for all your help building Windows 7. We are on our way to the last big milestone: Release to Manufacturing. Starting on October 22, you’ll see it on PCs and store shelves. As we gear up for that, it’s time to wind down the Release Candidate testing program. If you or a friend needs a download, you’ve got time. We’ll continue to offer the RC download until August 20, 2009. After that, you won’t be able to get the download, but if you have the bits, you can still install the RC and get a key if you need one. (To get a key, just go to the Downloads page and follow the instructions.) Tell us what you think. If you’re using the Windows 7 Release Candidate, we hope you like what you see. Let us know -- go to http://input.microsoft.com and tell us what you think. You’ll be able to give feedback on various aspects of the operating system. Got the RC and need help? Experts on the Windows 7 Forum can help answer your questions. The forum also gives you a way to share what you’ve learned with other people.   Essential resources - The Installation Instructions give you the info you need to get started.         - The Windows 7 online forums are a great place to start.   Thanks again for your investment in Windows 7. The Windows 7 Team

IANYSE

I once asked one of my sons a rather stupid question about something, and he responded with "IANYSE". I asked him to explain, and he said it means "I am not your search engine".

This reminds me to remind you readers that when you encounter any problem with your PC, one of the first things you should do is a Google search (or your favorite search engine) of any indicators you might be seeing on your PC. You may get a cryptic error message and not know what to do. Do a Google search using the first however many words of the error message you can remember, and you may be surprised to find that others have had the same problem and that they have published a solution to the problem in one of the many, many user forums on the web.

Save time, save money, and get a quick fix to your problem, and feel good about doing so!

Microsoft admits it knew of critical IE bug in early ‘08

This is just one more reason NOT to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer as your browser.

Microsoft admits it knew of critical IE bug in early '08

Google Chrome OS: Does the World Need Another Operating System?

From pcworld.com, but written about in lots of places today:

When Google first launched its Chrome Web browser, many of us immediately saw Chrome as Google’s extension of an operating system. Now, that prophecy is fulfilled with news of Google’s plans to open-source the Chrome OS code later this year with view to have it available in the second half of 2010. But immediately, this raises fundamental questions about what, exactly, defines an operating system, and what will distinguish Android, the open-source mobile OS spearheaded by Google, from Chrome OS.

Read More Here

Are you a Vista user or might you become one?

If you are saddled with a computer that is running Vista, or God forbid, you need to buy a new computer before October, and one that will come with Vista, then this post is for you.

Computers sold starting in October will come with the new Microsoft Windows 7 installed on them. This is good, or put another way, better than having to buy a machine with Vista. Early reports on Windows 7 seem to suggest that it will be better than, and perform better than, Vista.

So take heart Vista users, the end is near!

If you currently have a Vista computer, there are two things I'd suggest you do.

1) Download, install, and then run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta on your Vista machine. You can download it here: Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta.

It's not totally clear to me, but after you run it, you will get a window that looks something like this:



The important thing about my output above is that is indicates that I passed all 4 system requirements. The other items are worth noting, but not show-stoppers.

2) After running the above and getting satisfactory results (note: you may not get satisfactory results - call me) you now have an opportunity for only about one more week, to purchase a copy of Windows 7 from Microsoft for only $49. This is roughly a 50% savings, and the product won't be shipped to you until October. In buying this right to a copy of the new operating system, you will have saved about $50 on what will be the retail price of Windows 7 Home Premium.

FYI, I just did this because I will need to learn Windows 7 early and I can't resist a bargain.

Go to this Microsoft web page and view the vendors offering this product ( I bought mine at Amazon.com). Select a vendor and follow the ordering procedures:

Windows 7 Pre-Order Offer

Analyst: $120 for Windows 7 ‘way too much’

I am thinking I'll buy in to the $50 special offer these 2 weeks, just to have a copy on the shelf that I can install on a backup machine for testing. That offer is a good deal for someone like me who must get early hands-on experience.

Analyst: $120 for Windows 7 'way too much'

Backing up your data

A customer called the other day stating that their PC had "crashed" and it would not boot, and it was feared that all was lost. Unfortunately I was not in town to assist, so I recommended another PC professional to do the job. Instead the customer went ahead and reinstalled the operating system, basically starting from scratch, and LOST ALL OF THEIR DATA! Just think what this would mean to you. Your pictures, music, perhaps small business financial data, documents, etc., all GONE and never to be seen again.

Let me say this first: it has been many years since I have seen a hard drive crash where data was not retrievable. In many, many customer cases I have been able to retrieve all of the customer's data from a crashed system. You see, what normally happens in these cases is that the operating system is unable to startup, usually because a system file or two or three get damaged. The result: an apparent system crash and lost data. But hold on. Your hard drive can be removed, if necessary, and placed on another system where it is entirely readable, not as a system disk, but as a data repository. In this way I, or any other PC professional, can copy all of your data to some portable external device - maybe a flash (or thumb) drive, a DVD or multiple DVDs, etc. Just like that, all of your data is retrieved and saved. Usually NOTHING is lost! This can be completed for something less than $150. Compare this price to the value of your lost data.  If something like this happens to you, please call me or your PC professional of choice for help.

All  this leads me to my subject of the day, and this is not new from me. Look at some old posts and you'll find I have been on my soapbox preaching backup of your data on a regular basis.

I use an external hard drive for data backup. I happen to have a Western Digital My Book with a 1TB capacity for this purpose.  There are dozens of other choices available to you. These devices attach via a USB cable to your PC (or in fact other PCs in your home as well). Using Windows Explorer, I manually copy all of the contents of MY DOCUMENTS to a new folder on my external drive. It takes me maybe 15 minutes, and I have complete backup of all of my data. I do not want to lose my family photos or my music, so this is my insurance. I keep about 4 copies of MY DOCUMENTS on this large external hard drive, these being the last 4 quarters' backups.

The 1 TB My Book, or most other solutions like this one, cost under $150. This is a one time expense, and is certainly worth it for the comfort it will provide you.

I have no affiliation with Amazon or any other retailer, but I just checked on Amazon and see my drive on sale for $119. How can anyone afford to be without one of these devices?

Western Digital 1TB My Book on sale at Amazon

Contact me with questions here

Used IT gear: How to get good stuff cheap and avoid the lemons

This may be a timely article. There are many sources of good, used computer equipment out there.

 Used IT gear: How to get good stuff cheap and avoid the lemons

10 Excellent Tech Gifts for Your Dad or Grad

From our friends at PCWorld.com.

10 Excellent Tech Gifts for Your Dad or Grad

IT pros prefer old XP over new Windows 7

This article is from ComputerWorld.com. All I can say is AMEN!

IT Pros prefer old XP over new Windows 7

Review: Apple’s 15-in. MacBook Pro now faster — and cheaper

I want a MacBook so bad I can taste it! However, until Apple's prices drop another 50% I just don't see affording one. The big price drop they speak of in this Computerworld.com title reduces the price DOWN to ONLY $1699!!! You can see where I am coming from. The most I have paid for a laptop in the last few years is around $800, so Apple has a long way to go. I am afraid I will keep on plugging along with my Windows XP machines. At least I am comfortable and familiar with them and XP, and I know if I want to, I can make Windows XP last as long as I will ever need to. Anyway, here is the big Apple announcement, as found at Computerworld.com:

Review: Apple's 15-in. MacBook Pro now faster -- and cheaper

IE 8 causes big problems on some PCs

This comes from Windows Secrets (http://www.windowssecrets.com/). Those of you who know me or who have read this blog know that I have always recommended that you stay away from Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), using it only when absolutely necessary.

I am afraid that IE8 has now been downloaded to some of you through Automatic Update. If you have been following here over time, you know that you can override the installation of any MS update, as I just did when I found it downloaded and ready for installation on one of my laptops.

If you have not yet seen IE8 headed your way, be on the lookout and block its installation. There is no need to rush into it at this time. Give it some time and wait until MS makes it ready for prime time.

In the meantime, I recommend and use Mozilla's Firefox as my browser of choice. If  you don't yet use Firefox, you can get it here. It is, as always, FREE.

IE 8 causes big problems on some PCs

By Dennis O'Reilly

The new version 8 of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has some features that version 7 doesn't.

But that's no guarantee that upgrading to IE 8 will go smoothly on your PC.

The perils of software updates were brought home to computer-repair business owner Bob Millard as he attempted to heal the XP systems of three clients who had recently moved from IE 7 to IE 8:

• "I have a computer repair business. In the last two weeks, I've had to fix three XP laptops after the installation of IE 8 made them inoperable. In each case, after the update, the desktop on each of these computers was blank except for the desktop wallpaper.
  
  "It didn't matter whether you started the system in normal or safe mode, all desktop items — including the taskbar — were missing. The only way I could get them back was by using one of my bootable utilities that would allow me access to the restore points. On two of these laptops, restoring back a few days corrected the problem.
  
  "On one of them, even though I got all the desktop functions restored, I didn't have Internet access or any access to USB devices. I tried to remove IE 7 (IE 8 was gone after the restore) but there was no remove/uninstall option in the Add/Remove Programs window.
  
  "I was able to use a remove-IE7 utility that I have [IE7 EasyRemove, available at the Drive Headquarters site] to get back to IE 6, and now the system is working again.
  
  "Bottom line: There are big issues in Internet Explorer 8 land."
  

Bob told me that he subsequently reinstalled IE 7 on two of the laptops and everything worked as expected. However, the third still lacked USB access and had other problems with IE 7 installed, so Bob left IE 6 on that machine — at least until he could find the required fix.

Despite the potential pitfalls, I recommend that if you must use Internet Explorer, install the latest version that won't trash your system. If IE 8 crashes and burns, revert to IE 7. If IE 7 brings you grief, roll back to IE 6 — but only long enough to get things working again. Old versions of IE are too insecure for today's scary Web.

Microsoft sets Windows 7 launch for Oct. 22

Here we go again. Microsoft is making it clear that they want our Christmas Season business and they won't let Vista stand in the way. It seems to me that this has been rushed, and I hope I am not one who MUST buy a new machime in the early days of Windows 7.

This article is from Computerworld, but the story was covered everywhere yesterday.

Microsoft sets Windows 7 launch for Oct. 22

A rocket powered computer

The following is from the Kim Komando web site, http://www.komando.com

6/3/2009


Tom wrote from Larned, KS. He reported that he needs a new computer. It should boot fast, load programs fast, compile video fast. In other words, he feels the need for speed!

Tom, you and I think alike. I can't stand to wait for a computer. I want Word to open NOW. I want my browser to load YESTERDAY. I want to see Windows shuckin' and cookin'.

So, there are some obvious things you need. Make sure you have a first-rate chip. The absolute best is usually too costly. It's OK to come down a step or two. Intel's absolute best for consumers is its Extreme line. I'd skip that. You need a regular Core 2 Quad. The best AMD chip is the Phenom. Get the triple core, rather than the quad. Very few programs can use more than one core.

Be sure your new motherboard can handle 64-bit computing. If the salesman seems uninformed, check the computer manufacturer's Web site. And be sure that the Windows version is 64-bit. To confirm that, click Start>>Control Panel. Double-click System. Look in the System section.

You can install gobs of memory. I wouldn't go overboard. Four gigabytes should be enough. Be sure the computer can take that much. The manufacturer's site can help with this, too.

You're probably not going to see a consumer box with a solid-state drive. Such a drive could very well be faster than a conventional drive. But solid state drives are expensive and small. I'd go for a serial ATA drive with at least 500-gigabyte capacity. Terabyte drives also are available. I've seen them advertised at less than $100 online. Buy a drive that runs at 7200 rpm.

Finally, I'd pop for a 512MB video card. And I'd use two monitors. Windows handles dual monitors with aplomb.

You may be tempted to use a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks) setup. Level 0 (striping) is supposed to speed up the computer. That hasn't been my experience. I think RAID setups just introduce complexity. Don't go there.

You're all set, Tom. Don't get a speeding ticket!

Review: 2 USB devices offer easy remote access

The article referenced is from Computerworld. This is quite amazing and, I would think, something that will be very popular with business people who travel. It might also be useful to me as the PC Doc, but that remains to be seen. Since many people turn off their home PCs while away, it probably won't be too useful to them unless they change their ways and leave the PC powered on.

Review: 2 USB devices offer easy remote access

SuperAntispyware

Those of you who follow this blog know that I have been recommending SuperAntispyware for quite some time now, since actually, the day one of you told me about it (thanks John!)! It is now an integral part of my security toolkit.

I ran across this article on WindowsSecrets.com, and thought I'd pass it on. I was surprised to see that these techies only found this program now, but at least they did like it.

Free antispyware tool has a bombastic name

I've received many reader recommendations for an antispyware tool I'd never heard of before: SUPERAntiSpyware.

With a name like that, I assumed that the program had to be bogus. But it is, in fact, a legitimate antispyware program, despite the exuberant name.

As with many security programs, there's a version of SUPERAntiSpyware that's free for personal use and a "pro" version (U.S. $29.95) that adds a few functions. As I've said many times before, I'm a big fan of free tools that I can install on the PCs of friends and family for them to use after I leave.

SUPERAntiSpyware claims to run on all versions of Windows since 98, but it requires 256MB of RAM. That's a common amount of system memory for an XP machine but is probably more than you'll find on typical Windows 98–era hardware.

The program uses a traditional full installer and asks to download updates at install time. Immediately after installation, the app recommends that you scan your system for spyware. The program's quick scan took just a couple of minutes when I ran it on the small Windows XP VM that I use for testing.

I've installed a handful of random malware samples into an inactive directory on this test VM. SUPERAntiSpyware identified one of the malware files as well as the usual "spyware" browser cookies. The utility's performance was adequate and the VM remained responsive during the scan. The process required about 80MB of RAM while actively scanning.

I didn't have a real spyware infection to throw at the program, but in my very limited testing, SUPERAntiSpyware performed well. Based on my test results and the number of readers who recommend the program, I'm definitely going to put it into my toolbox. You can download a copy of SUPERAntiSpyware from the vendor's site.

Spybot

As much as I try to put Spybot on the back burner and not use it anymore, I still find it is needed. I was working on a customer's machine and ran Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and SuperAntispyware.  This machine had many problems. After deleting all of the things they found, I ran Spybot, and it found an additional 70 problems, which it then fixed. Some of these 70 were pretty serious, and this exercise just goes to show that different people in diferent countries bring their own experiences to the table and see things differently, to which I say Amen and Thank You!

Spybot is still a valuable and necessary component of my security suite.

IE8 & Google’s Chrome 2.0: First Impressions

These are two unrelated topics in one.

First, re. IE8 I recommend taking a wait and see attitude. There is no reason to rush into this. Most will probably get it accidentally one day through Microsoft Updates. That's the way most people got to IE7, which IMHO is nothing to write home about.

The second topic within this topic is Google's continuing attempt to popularize their own browser, Chrome. I tried an early version and uninstalled it after a couple of days. I imagine that one day, but not soon, Google, with its awesome technical savvy, will get Chrome to the point where it will serve nicely as an IE or Firefox replacement, but as above with IE8, there is no reason to rush and make any commitment to Chrome. There is no harm, however, in trying it. It's an easy download and install, and it's easy to uninstall as well, if/when you decide that's what you want to do.

The author of this article on pcworld.com has some comments about Chrome.

Google's Chrome 2.0: First Impressions

As for me, I'll take a wait and see position on this one as well as on IE8.

HP laptop batteries recalled for overheating

It might be worth reading this cnet.com article if you are an HP or Compaq laptop owner.

HP laptop batteries recalled for overheating

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Microsoft has a new and free tool you can download, install, and run on your PC. The program will scan your system and let you know if your machine is capable of running the new Microsoft operating system known now as Windows 7.

Since I have already downloaded a copy of Windows 7 to test, I thought I'd download the Upgrade Advidor and check out some of my systems.  I ran it first on my primary machine, an IBM desktop that is about 5 years old, I think.

My results were not encouraging as you can see below.



Hmmm.. I guess I won't be testing Windows 7 on this machine! If you would like to download the Upgrade Advisor, you can download it here:

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Microsoft: Windows 7 Available in Time for Holidays

This really makes it tough on those of you who are planning a new PC purchase between now and the end of the year. All you can buy now is Vista, and who wants that? I'm guessing that we will someday see a "buy a Vista machine now and we will give you a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it becomes available" marketing campaign.

I found this on Computerworld.com but it appears it was originally on idg.net.

May 11, 2009 (IDG News Service) Microsoft Corp. will make Windows 7 available to businesses and consumers in time for the busy holiday shopping season in the fourth quarter of the year, according to company officials.

Windows Server 2008 R2, the server companion to the client operating system, also will be available at the same time. Microsoft unveiled the information to journalists just ahead of its keynote at its annual conference, which kicks off today in Los Angeles. Microsoft also said it plans to release a technical preview of the next version of its other key software product, Office 2010, in July to all attendees of the conference.

Ward Ralston, a Microsoft group product manager, said not to think of the release as having anything to do with Microsoft's internal product schedule for Office 2010, the release date of which has not been revealed.

Instead, the preview is "a build we feel has enough quality in it so customers can be successful evaluating the product and giving us feedback," he said.

Microsoft made available the first release candidate of Windows 7 about two weeks ago, signaling that the company is close to a final release. So far the buzz on the operating system has been generally positive.

Windows 7 is an important release for Microsoft as it follows the disappointing Windows Vista, which Microsoft took more than five years to develop and generally did not live up to its promise.

Outsource your own job?

This takes outsourcing to a whole new level! Hmmm, I wonder if it could really work?

Outsource your job

Windows 7 RC1

I have downloaded and burned to DVD the just-released Windows 7 Release Candidate 1. All I need now is to find an old laptop (I'm sure I have enough parts to put together to get one up and running) which will support it. I am not in a hurry to do this, but will report back on my experience when I do.

FYI, this is the test version of the operating system destined to replace Windows Vista. The download is free, comes with its own key, and is good through June of 2010. After that date my copy will expire and I would have to pay for it, presumably at the going retail rate.

HOSTS File Updates

If you are one of those who followed my sequence of posts below to get and install the HOSTS file, you may also have signed up for e-mail notification of updates, but the author has had to discontinue that update notification service.

Instead, go to his site once a month or so and manually download the latest version.

Check here

Muddying the water?

Looks like Microsoft could make its Vista successor, aka Windows 7, available as soon as August. There seems to be a rush to do this, I'm guessing because Vista has been such a huge failure that Microsoft wants to take it off the table and leave it behind as soon as they can.

Much more on this as information becomes available.................

Windows 7 could launch as early as August

20 Years of AOL Annoyances and Foul-Ups

I just don't know why anyone would still be using AOL. Perhaps if you are still a dial-up user and can save money with AOL, that would be a good reason. Otherwise why? I recommend getting yourself a Google Mail account (free) and then, to ease the transition, use Outlook Express, Outlook, or Thunderbird to process your e-mail. Outlook Express and Thunderbird are free. Outlook is a part of Microsoft Office (certain versions), and tends to be something a person has by virtue of having bought Office for other reasons. In this sense, Outlook might be considered free. I fall into this latter category.

I use a Google Mail address as my primary e-mail address, and use Outlook as my mail client. All of my mail, incoming AND outgoing, is processed by Google and remains on Google's host servers, so at any time I can look at it all from any computer in the world simply by using web mail.

Anyway, for those of you who just love your AOL and must have it, you may enjoy this stroll down memory lane provided courtesy of pcworld.com. Most users of AOL tend to be long-term sufferers users, and may remember much of the AOL story.

20 Years of AOL Annoyances and Foul-Ups

Get yourself a GMAIL (Google Mail) Account Here

Eight Reasons Your Next Computer Should Be a PC

Fair and balanced!

This article, again from pcworld.com, presents the other side of the story. Compare to yesterday's post.

Eight Reasons Your Next Computer Should Be a PC

Eight Reasons Your Next Computer Should Be a Mac

For all of those of you who, like me, would love to own a Mac, [or even an iPhone (also like me)], this will be of interest. It comes from pcworld.com.

Eight Reasons Your Next Computer Should Be a Mac

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: