Obsolete tech: 40 things on their way out

This will be fun, especially for those of you who have been around as long as I.

Obsolete tech: 40 things on their way out

Phishing Scams

From Wikipedia: "In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication."

I have several e-mail addresses. On some of my secondary addresses, I have noticed many phishing e-mails lately, all coming from official-looking sources. Here is one I just received.

"

Note: This is a service message regarding the Chase Customer Form.

Dear customer:

As part of the new security measures, all Chase bank customers are required to complete Chase Customer Form. Please complete the form as soon as possible.

To access the form please click on the following link:

http://chaseonline.chase.com/Secure/webform/OSL.aspx?LOB=74385758623540230413587126410155575977791645359240724660115190950314616300

Thank you for being a valued customer.

Sincerely,

Chase Customer Service"

Banks will NEVER ask you to complete such a form. They will never ask you for your password. DON'T FALL FOR THESE SCHEMES!

In my case, when I click on the link as requested to do, I get this screen:

"Reported Web Forgery!

This web site at chaseonline.chase.com.cyumiv.com has been reported as a web forgery and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Web forgeries are designed to trick you into revealing personal or financial information by imitating sources you may trust.

Entering any information on this web page may result in identity theft or other fraud."

I am not sure where this level of protection comes from, but I don't really care. I would never click on such a link anyway, but did so for illustrative purposes here.

JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT PARANOID DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE NOT OUT TO GET YOU!!

Be careful.

Gone Quiet

Last week was devoted to the marriage of our son Joe to his beloved Emily. This week is devoted to our son Tom, wife Alexa, and sons John and Brendan.

So there you have it. It's why I've been absent and will be for another week!

‘Kill IE6′ campaign gains force; 30M Web users get switch pitch

If you are one of the many users of IE6, be aware that "they" are gunning for you, but also know that Microsoft will support IE6 through 2014. If you have an older machine with XP and a not-too-fast microprocessor with upward limitations on RAM, staying with IE6 is probably a good idea. Even if not, I'd still wait a while before jumping to IE8. IE8 has not been trouble-free, and is probably not going to make you happy is your system is resource-constrained.

Kill IE6' campaign gains force; 30M Web users get switch pitch

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