< a href="http://consumerist.com/2010/07/security-patching-for-xp-service-pack-2-ends-today.html">“Security Patching for XP Service Pack 2 Ends Today”.

It costs money to have teams of people, like fire fighters, employed for the “in case of emergency” situations. Yes, while they aren’t responding to the latest hacker attacks, they can be doing productive things with their product line, but consider Microsoft has two other fully functional PC operating systems they have to support as well: Vista and Windows 7.

Short translation: If your computer(s) is (are) running Windows XP, and you haven’t updated beyond Service Pack 2, then you are potentially at risk if the hackers figure out a new way to end around the security features of XP/SP2.

The good news? Make sure you’ve installed Service Pack 3. Microsoft will still have resources that keep that “vintage” of XP updated and patched for security holes.

In the long run, it’s notice to consider drafting your plan to upgrade your operating system software, and possibly your systems. I have been using Windows 7 on various machines for about a year now, the first installation on a very old computer, and I did it just to see if it worked…it did. Not that some of the others I’ve upgraded haven’t had a few issues with finding drivers, but it’s time. Besides, it runs fast like XP, yet is pretty like Vista!

If you need help laying out a plan and a budget for your business, contact me!

The “bad guys” on the Internet have long had a habit of finding the biggest security holes with the greatest potential impact. That’s one reason why the Apple computer line has remained effectively virus free (I caught at least one in the early Mac days (Scores), so don’t tell me there never has been any Mac viruses).

Over the years, operating systems have been “hardened”, so the bad guys have become creative and looked towards other avenues, to the point that Mike Cox in an article “Social media attacks dominate first half of 2010 malware trends” on eChannelLive tells us what is now going as as the biggest impact by the bad guys:

“Cyber criminals are putting increasing emphasis on using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter as effective ‘spread mechanisms’ for malicious software,” said Arvid Gomez, Norman vice president, OEM and Technology. “In the past, they put nearly all of their efforts into compromising PC operating systems. As social media use becomes part of the fabric of our daily life, Internet users need to make certain they are taking the necessary steps to protect their privacy and security.”

He then goes on the discuss the koobface malware that has come through FaceBook since 2007. I encountered this at a client’s site about 4 months ago.

Another method to not only frustrate you, but also get some money, or your credit card number for use in, in the least case fraud, and the worst case, identity theft, are the “scareware” or “rasomware” programs that take over your system and basically demand that you buy their removal tools, which…are pretty much garbage anyhow. Mike has this comment:

Norman security experts also note that fake antivirus programs continued to plague many home PC and business users. Rogue antimalware programs have been around for a long time. In recent years however, they have become increasingly widespread, and represent a major problem. These programs can be difficult to eradicate, as they often consist of many different malicious elements.

I spent a better part of Wednesday ripping one of these attacks out of a laptop of a client’s office machine. I’ll say this: About 6 months ago, I could find these and get around them and eliminate them in about an hour. That was thanks to having seen several in a short time frame. They all had different file names, and loaded themselves from different places on the drive, but they all used the same methods. The one I ran into Wednesday had grown far smarter. I found it pretty quickly, but it had done many things to mask itself, and had placed some more hooks in the registry than I was used to deleting. Additional, I found a browser web director trojan in there, too. It may have arrived as a package deal, but it took 6 hours to find it, delete the offending things, much of the time was spent running scans, which found more things with each delete/reboot/scan cycle. It’s gone now and they are back to work, without having to just wipe the drive and begin all over, but it was a long day, when some elements have become smart enough to even force a load, regardless of some settings you applied to keep them from coming in a boot up.

I know many people don’t want to learn about the specifics of keeping your computers free of malware and other bad things, but your choice, as I see it, is to commit to some training by your local computer support person/people/staff/support company, or you can call us up and pay by the hour to undo what was maybe a 5 second decision on what to do about the question: “XXX is requesting to run. Do you want to block or allow it?” from your firewall protection. Because of the bad guys, you must get some education in how to keep from your system from becoming unavailable for a few hours (at best) to days (worst case).

Good rule of thumb: You can unblock accidentally prohibited functions. You will lose time and money if you let something in out of “I don’t have time to deal with this, I just want to get back to work!” frustration.

Read Mike’s article and practice intelligent computing!

Today I installed FireFox 4.0 (beta), meaning the released for testing by people outside of the development place in order to get feedback.

I’m glad I can still get into my FireFox 3.6.X install, too.

Not because FF 4 is bad, but I have bvecome accustomed to using many add on functions, called “plug ins” in FireFox and with the move up to 4.0(b), most all of the plugins I had installed didn’t work. Several of those I very much rely on, so 4.0(b) is a non-starter for me. It does have a nicer look, and I’m sure some improvements “under the hood,” but I need a few of the plugins to be updated for operating in 4.0 before I completely migrate to the newer version.

If you want to join me out “on the edge,” you can download FireFox 4.0(b), you can get it at this link. Enjoy!

Recently, one of the people who does a lot of lectures on Social Media wandered off the tracks long enough to say he wasn’t a web designer, but people should have their websites done in Joomla or WordPress of they are getting ripped off.

He is sort of right. Having spent since 1996 playing with websites, I’ll say he’s right if you need a functional, right away site to just say who you are and what you do. After that, his comments need to be modified based on what you need to show/display/convey about you and your business. You may need something beyond WordPress, or not.

If you’re on a limited budget, and/or you have time to maintain all aspects of you website, and that means learning about links, setting up categories, placing privacy policy statements, setting up webforms for contact info, and keep spambots at bay, then yes…WordPress is a suitable candidate for you.

In the meantime, communicate clearly what you need to your web designer and work with them. Know that the more you have thought about the content of your website before you talk with them, you will pay them less, as they won’t be spending time tracking your content down, and making change upon change upon change. That’s a money saving tip…you can use.

The great news is WordPress 3.0 has broken through the barrier of not just being a great blogging platform, but has “grown up” to be a fully functional “CMS” (Content Management System).

Questions? Contact me and let me help you see what’s best for your diigital landscape!

The “bad guys” are hard at work. About 6 months ago, people called me with “scareware” viruses and I could eradicate them in under an hour. Since then, a new wave has appeared, and they not only have a propensity to fake where they are installed, they also now find the more common anti-spyware database files on your systems and remove the identification data, so you can scan your system and they are not recognized. Net result: The “infection” hangs on longer and takes more effort to find and eradicate them. Are you practicing “safe computing?” If you don’t have anti-virus and anti-spyware and a firewall besides the one that comes with Windows, shame on you! By having those installed, you have a much better chance of not having to call me in to get you back to work, and writing me a check.

Smartphones. Geez….the iPhone 4 is very, very cool. That, along with the many others hitting the market, both in the Android and Windows based ones, cell phone band width will become an issue. We consumers will be amazed that “unlimited” plans really aren’t. In defense of the carriers, it takes money and technical expertise and time to keep the “backbones” upgraded for us to use. Think of it as road construction, and it’s going to be a massive rush hour. Just as we see our digitally connected worlds expanding exponentially, there will be the just one more customer that sends your connection speed down the tubes. It’s a problem of aggregation, not that one users.

Next issue: Apple really upped the ante with the “retina” display technology. Think you have a nice screen now? Think again. We have been living on display surfaces, both in the cathode ray tube and now the LCD/LED era, at resolutions of no greater than 75 dots per inch (dpi), at best…usually 72 dpi.

drool over this: 326 dpi! Math: 326/75 = 4.3X improvement in picture clarity. It used to be, I “thinned” out pictures for web use to 100 dpi, because above that, you couldn’t tell the difference, and it also less data to transfer, so the pictures on a web page loaded much faster. Now 400 dpi wil have to be the default standard for high quality on the net. That also means more data flying about, clogging the pipes. In actuality, it will be a while before we really have to worry about this, as only the really big corporations, and “bleeding edge” early adopters will have such displays, but maybe 5-8 years down the road, this resolution will become an accepted common standard. My prediction, not connected to anything I’ve read…yet.

WordPress is no longer just blogging software. It’s now a true “Content Management System” (CMS). I’ll be revamping the site one day, to take advantage of this functionality, but It will be a planned, staged retooling, as I see potential for dropping all the blog posts into thin air, if the right steps aren’t taken. I have a “sandbox” out there in the net, just so I can see what steps to take, in what order. Part of my self-educating process, so I can do it for clients.

Windows 7 is still doing well. I like it more and more. I still haven’t migrated my trusty workhorse, the laptop, but that is another staged, well planned event, so as not to come up saying “Hey! Where did ________________ file go?” Sort of like the locker room scene in “Top Gun,” where the “best of the best” discussed their first day of practice air combat maneuvers (ACM). That part of the locker room scene isn’t on YouTube…

There are a few notes from my world, to give you some insight into yours!

Click the “Read More” button to see a cat using and iPad!

If none of that works, purchase a Handy Allpurpose Multi Matic Electronic Repair tool (H.A.M.M.E.R) from your hardware store, or for more advanced repair options, get a Sychronous Linear Electronic Distribution of G-force Energy Handy Allpurpose MultiMatic Electronic Repair tool(S.L.E.D.G.E.H.A.M.M.E.R).

In the digital world, you’re putting “content” out for all the World to see, literally. Not only can they see it when you post it, but even when you change your webpages or social media work, trust me, there are places that the dedicated can find the “old” versions, be it for good or bad purposes, or worse yet, bad legal purposes.

Via link chasing, I came across this this article “Social Media Marketing: Why You’re Better Off to DIY”, which says what I have mentioned in several meetings or talks.

My view has always been to help you understand why it’s so important that you are the one to be your voice. I can, as many others who work in this field, show you where to put the material you generate, but we don’t know your business like you do.

If you need coaching, I specialize in actually teaching people how to become proficient in managing their own content, to include how to save time while doing it. Get a hold of me if you need some direct, focused, customized help in this area!

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1. vBlogging: Basics – What kind of webcam should I use?

Not sure about which webcam to get to video blog/chat with? In the video, I share a little bit of advice on how to pick one, depending on your needs!

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