Hello everyone,
Here is a great video by Ed Bott which covers the new Mac Guard malware. Mac attacks are becoming more frequent and with greater intensity. The only reason that they have not been attacked before is because Mac users were a very small percentage of the total market. Be aware!
Professor Randy says: A Mac is not inherently any safer than a PC – if the user clicks and activates an executable then it doesn’t matter what kind of machine is being used.
Hello everyone,
The latest tech information is just a click away. Enjoy!
1) Duke Nukem Forever Available On June 14
2) Why Email Is Crucial To Google, Microsoft And Yahoo
3) Office 365 vs. Google Apps: Microsoft Comes Out Firing
4) Windows 8 Could Make Its Public Debut Next Week
5) Facebook Scams You Need To Know About: The 9 Most Common Hacks And Attacks
6) Affluency: E-Readers, Tablets Prove Taxing For Affluent
7) Mo’ Money: Square Now Processing $3 Million A Day In Mobile Payments
8) Zuckerberg: Kids Under 13 Should Be Allowed On Facebook
9) Anatomy Of A Spam Viagra Purchase
10) Adobe Reports “Issues” With Flash 10.3 And IE9
11) Exclusive: A First Look At AT&T’s LTE Network
12) Don’t Pay For Software You Don’t Need (Part 1)
13) Don’t Pay For Software You Don’t Need (Part2)
14) For A Song, Online Giants Offer Music In A Cloud
15) How Strong Does My Windows Password Need To Be?
Professor Randy quotes Mark Twain: “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is”.
Hello everyone,
I got a laptop yesterday from a client and when I turned it on, up popped another rogue security application. I can’t remember the exact name of the phony malware, but this one looked very like a Microsoft program because it had the Microsoft logo in the top left hand corner and the writing “genuine Microsoft” in the bottom left hand corner (see photo above).
These fake security programs are getting nastier and nastier and I had to go into my “bag of tricks” in order to remove it. Here is what I discovered and what I eventually did:
1) I could boot into Safe Mode but I couldn’t use it to do anything (the rogue program had rendered it useless).
2) I could not use System Restore (the rogue program had blocked it).
3) I could not open the Windows Task Manager ( disabled by the rouge program).
4) I could not access my flash drive because the rogue program had hidden all files and folders and I therefore couldn’t see anything.
Sounds bad huh? Well, good will always prevail over evil! Keep reading:
1) I booted up the machine from my Trinity Rescue Kit 3.4 CD.
2) I updated and ran BitDefender Antivirus (from the virus scanning menu on the Trinity Rescue disc).
3) Rebooted into normal mode and apparently the virus was under control but I had no icons nor taskbar on the desktop (did have a desktop photo). I couldn’t do anything!
4) I pressed Ctrl+Alt+Del and saw that Task Manager came up. I clicked on “File”>”New Task”> and typed “desktop” in the “Create New Task” box>”OK”. The desktop and icons reappeared (but I would lose them again every time I restarted the computer).
5) After rebooting, I repeated #4 again in order to restore taskbar and icons. I then ran an updated Trojan Remover and removed all infections and system modifications.
6) Upon reboot, icons and taskbar reappeared normally and permanently. Just for good measure I ran SUPERAntiSpyware and deleted anything found. Done!
Professor Randy says: Don’t be fooled by these fake programs. When these rogue windows pop-up, don’t click on anything! If you do however, the solution can be found by following the above procedure. You’ll be up and running soon!
Hello everyone,
Click on any of the following links to see some of the latest tech information. Enjoy!
1) Dropbox Caught With Its Finger In The Cloud Cookie Jar
3) Confessions Of A Computer Repairman
4) Top 10 Awesome Android Features That The iPhone Doesn’t Have
5) Six Reasons Why Chromebooks Are A Bad Idea
6) With Chromebooks, Google’s Hitting Apple & Microsoft Where They Live
7) How To Wipe Personal Data From Your Smartphone
8) Google Music vs. Amazon Cloud Drive
9) “I’m A PC” Ads Return, Let The Speculation Begin!
10) How To Use HootSuite As A Marketing Tool
11) What Media Players Do I Need?
12) 9 Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime
13) Small Business Lessons For IT Consultants
14) The 10 Cleverest Ways To Use Linux To Fix Your Windows PC
15) Video: Website Tricks And Secrets
Professor Randy quotes Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Hello everyone,
Many of my clients get really nervous when a sudden pop-up appears on their computer screen. It seems that more and more these pop-ups claim to be free antivirus removal or system optimizing programs, but of course they are not. They are actually fake, phony, rouge programs that want to trick you into installing them on your computer! Everyone asks me what they should do when they see one of these pop-up alerts.
Today I would like to teach you the best way to shut down these malicious pop-up scams. You will not infect your machine if you follow these instructions:
1) When you first see the pop-up, DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING! Clicking on something in the pop-up window will infect your machine – you will actually be installing the program that you want to get rid of.
2) NEVER CLICK ON THE RED X! The Red X which usually closes a program can be coded to act as an ‘OK’ button in many cases. Just follow rule #1 and DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING!
3) Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard (all three keys pressed down at the same time). This will bring up the Windows Task Manager (see above photo).
4) Find the pop-up window process and highlight it by clicking on it once. It is properly highlighted when it turns blue (like in the above photo).
5) Click on End Task (End Process) (see above photo). The pop-up process will close and the pop-up window will disappear from your screen – you have avoided infecting your computer!
Professor Randy says: Don’t be tricked by these phony programs! They want you to click on them, but don’t “take the bait”. Stay calm and close them down using the above method.
Hello everyone,
I got a computer today that was infected with the nasty Windows Recovery virus (Windows Recovery makes your files and folders disappear so that you think they have been totally wiped out). I usually make “short work” of these types of rogue programs but this one was really nasty. Here is what I did:
1) I had to remove the Hard Drive from the infected computer and attach it to my clean bench computer via a USB 2.0 to IDE or SATA Drive Adapter.
2) I then scanned the infected drive with an updated Malwarebytes (free) and removed all infections.
3) I put the drive back into the original computer and scanned it once again with GrindinSoft Trojan Killer (trialware: free and fully functioning for 15 days) and removed all infections.
4) It seemed that the virus was gone but I couldn’t see any of my start up items, desktop icons, and many files and folders were still invisible. The computers file system was still all messed up (hidden actually) so I restored it with a program called Unhider – great stuff and free (you will not see the results of Unhider until you reboot the machine).
5) My start menu reappeared and I could see almost all of my files and folders but still no desktop icons! I downloaded, installed and ran the great Combofix (also free).
6) All folders, files, and desktop icons reappeared and the computer was back to normal. Bye, bye Windows Recovery!
Professor Randy says: These phony rogue viruses are a pain in the behind but their “bark is greater than their bite”. Root out these unscrupulous programs by using the above method and the above great free software. Your clients will love you for it!
Hello everyone,
Interesting tech information galore! Just follow the links and you will be there. Enjoy!
1) New Microsoft Video Ad: Older PCs Are No Longer Good Enough
2) Why Every Child In America Needs An iPad
3) Why Your Users Should Avoid File-Sharing Sites
4) What You Should Know About iTunes’ 56-Page Legal Terms
5) Top 10 Fixes For The Web’s Most Annoying Problems
6) Comcast’s New Mobile 3G/4G Hotspot: Cheaper, No 4G Caps
7) Skype’s Dangerous Exploit: What You Need To Know
8) Better Living Through Technology
9) Don’t Pay For Software You Don’t Need
10) Coming Soon To A Mac Near You: Serious Malware
11) Emotional Video Fights Distracted Driving
12) Protected! A New UPS Cleans Up Dirty Power
13) The New Essential Apps For iPhone, Android, iPad And Windows Phone
14) How Can I Tell If My Computer Is Being Hacked?
15) 10 Reasons To Start A Business This Year
Professor Randy quotes Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Hello everyone,
A thought provoking article written by Chuck Colson of Breakpoint (copied verbatim):
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I’ve got to tell you, the recent news reports that Apple’s iPhone and iPad can track your location moment by moment reminded me of George Orwell’s 1984. Media outlets were all — excuse the pun — a’twitter about how iPhones store users’ unencrypted information for a year.
Fortunately for Apple, it was able to credibly deny the reports. A data file publicized by security researchers, it turns out, doesn’t store actual locations. But what it does is keep a list of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers, which means, potentially, Apple can track the location of the iPhone I’m carrying in my pocket. For me, that’s too close for comfort. Apple promises it will fix the problem to ensure our privacy is protected.
Well, do you trust Apple to act in an unbiased way in the public interest? Remember, Apple banned the Manhattan Declaration app from its app store because gay-rights groups were angry about the Declaration’s support of marriage as being between a man and a woman. Apple squelched one side of a raging public debate. But Apple, as a public corporation and major carrier of information has a responsibility to encourage open debate. That’s vital to democracy.
But even if Apple hadn’t dropped our app, I’d still find this brouhaha about the iPhone troubling. Apple says nothing untoward is happening, and perhaps this time it isn’t, but how can we be sure that they won’t change their mind? Remember in 1984 where those reverse televisions kept a merciless eye on the people?
Today’s technology goes far beyond that. Facebook, for example, will reportedly be using facial recognition to suggest the names of friends who appear in newly uploaded photos. One commenter responded to this news by saying, “Awesome! Now I can take pictures of cute girls at the grocery store or at the park, upload them and Facebook will tell me who they are!”
From all that we’ve seen with computers, cell phones, and the Web, I think it’s safe to assume our private information won’t remain private. And do we really want to entrust our personal security to a faceless corporate or government bureaucracy? And gamble that Big Brother won’t get his unsavory paws on our private data?
To paraphrase President Ford, a company or government big enough to give you everything you want is a company or government big enough to take from you everything you have. Through the technological advances of Apple, Facebook, and other corporations, we now have the technology we want. But they have enormous access into our lives, and they must be held accountable.
Beyond the obvious concerns about maintaining our privacy, we need to ask some deeper questions: What do all these digital intrusions tell us about human beings? We’re not here to simply serve the marketing or financial needs of Big Brother. We’re made in the image of God. We have intrinsic dignity. I’m not the first to worry about the dehumanizing tendencies of technology.
We Christians, along with everyone else in our complex technological society, face difficult choices when it comes to using, benefiting from, and sometimes protecting ourselves from our electronic creations. The digital age has much that is praiseworthy — and much that is perilous. A crucial part of Christian discipleship in the 21st century is learning to tell the difference.”
Professor Randy says: Please think twice about location based services. Don’t just consider the positive side, but be aware of the negative also. Ask yourself the following questions before automatically clicking YES to accept: Are my service providers storing location information about me? How long do they keep my information? Your privacy is in the balance!
Hello everyone,
Many of my elderly clients still use and love Windows XP. They want to try out the new Windows 7, but they are afraid of the learning curve thinking that maybe Windows 7 will be too difficult to figure out. They ask me: “Can I try out Windows 7 to see if I like it before spending $100 to buy it?”
Well as you may know you can use an installed copy of a fully functioning Windows 7 for only 30 days (grace period). After 30 days you must enter a valid product key to officially activate Windows 7 or you will lose functionality.
For some people 30 days is not enough time to become totally familiar with the Windows 7 Operating System. But did you know that you can add an additional 90 days of grace period (giving you a full three months of evaluation) before you have to activate?
Here’s how:
1) Open a Command Prompt window using the Run As Administrator option 2) Type the following command: slmgr -rearm (that’s slmgr [space] -rearm). 3) When the command completes, restart your computer and instantly you’re good for 30 more days.
You can run this command a total of three times before you actually have to activate Windows 7 . You now have up to 120 days of free evaluation! Pretty cool huh?
I’ll install Windows 7 on a clients computer as a Dual Boot or in a Virtual Machine and they can take their sweet time (three months) checking it out before they commit.
Professor Randy says: Try before you buy! Using the above command, you can evaluate Windows 7 for a full three months before having to make a final decision.
Hello everyone,
Here are your links for the week. I hope there is something here that is of interest to you. Enjoy!
1) Apple Preparing To Introduce Sandy Bridge iMacs Early Next Week
2) Amazon Sells MP3 Singles For 69 Cents!
3) Verizon Plans To Put Location-Tracking Warning Sticker On Phones
4) Twitter Confirms It Has Passed 200 Million Accounts, 70% Of Traffic Now International
5) Careful What You Click, And Accept No Substitutes
6) Cable Company iPad Apps Are Killing It
7) Anyone Can Take Down Facebook Pages With A Fake Email Address
8) Google Gains Allies In The War Over HTML5 Video Formats
9) Apple Explains It’s Use Of Location Data
10) What The Music Business Can Learn From Netflix’s Success
11) Honeycomb Tablet Has 4G And 3-D But Is No iPad
12) YouTube Finally Goes Hollywood With New Movies On Demand Service
13) Why All HDMI Cables Are The Same
14) Travel Tips For Leaving The Laptop Behind
15) Can I Backup Files To Another Partition On The Same Hard Disk?
Professor Randy quotes John Kotter: “Most people don’t lead their own lives – they accept their lives.”
