PC Doc’s Blog

This blog is being discontinued effective immediately. I have transferred all content to my new blog. Please visit there.

http://pcdocsblog.blogspot.com/

It is very nice not to have to worry about issues with blogging software. Thank you Google! I was using a free program called Wordpress, but for all that I wanted and needed, it was overkill, and the release I had installed (I had to install it on the servers at my hosting company) very soon was out of date. I didn’t need all that, so I took a leap of faith and went with Google. It took me about 15 minutes to migrate all of my posts from the old site to Google. Very nice indeed.

Please come visit the new site at: http://pcdocsblog.blogspot.com/

I know that many of you use Picasa to manage and edit your photos. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper that Adobe Photoshop Elements for sure (at $0), and it comes from a good home (Google).

I was just reading in Google’s official blog (I never knew they had one) that there is a new release of Picasa with some nice new features.

Here is a link to the Picasa Announcement

Also, here is a link to the official Google Blog, worth bookmarking IMHO.

Official Google Blog

I just posted this in a Google Chrome help blog:

I just downloaded and installed the latest Chrome version, 3.0.195.21.

I had tried Chrome a year or so ago and uninstalled it immediately when I realized I could not display my bookmarks in the same manner as Firefox, IE, and virtually any other browser does, meaning down the left hand side of my display. 

I find it hard to believe that Google has not responded to the public outcry to add this simple “feature”.

I am now going to uninstall Chrome again, and maybe I’ll try again in a year or so to see if Google has finally seen the light.

A very interesting article on today’s Computerworld.com web site has the above title.

It starts out with this: “Microsoft’s leaders really, really want you to forget about Vista and move right on to Windows 7. And who can blame them? Vista was a train wreck. No one who knows what they’re doing runs Vista, not even the Microsoft faithful. Windows 7, on the other hand, is a worthwhile desktop operating system. There’s only one little problem. There’s no good way to get from XP to 7.” I think it is worth reading for those of us with Windows XP.

LINK TO THE ARTICLE

Just 3 posts ago I warned of rogue programs - yet again! Looks like they even got the New York Times! Just another warning to be alert, not fall for come-ons that tell you your system is infected and all you have to do is CLICK HERE to get it cleaned!

THEY REALLY ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

This is from cnet.com:

The New York Times Web site is grappling with problems created by “an unauthorized advertisement,” but it is unknown how the ads appeared on the site and whether the Web site had been compromised.

The rogue ad warns readers that their computer may be infected with a virus and redirects them to a site that purports to offer antivirus software, according to a note posted to the newspaper’s Media & Advertising section:

Some NYTimes.com readers have seen a pop-up box warning them about a virus and directing them to a site that claims to offer antivirus software. We believe this was generated by an unauthorized advertisement and are working to prevent the problem from recurring. If you see such a warning, we suggest that you not click on it. Instead, quit and restart your Web browser.

The site, best-antivirus03.com, is a hijacker that uses fraudulent strategies to promote fake security software, according to security site GeekPolice.net.

One CNET reader described how the pop-up ad essentially hijacked his browser, preventing him from navigating away from the site.

“They took me to an ‘antivirus site,’ which kept attempting to scan my computer and install software. Using the back button kept reloading the virus page,” the reader said. “It was not possible to close the page, necessitating a force quit.”

Representatives for The New York Times did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This may seem cryptic to some of you, but if you have MSCONFIG experience and/or attended one of my many classes over the years, you may miss CASTLECOPS. Unfortunately that wonderful site, done strictly as a public service by some do-gooder, no longer exists.

If you want to check out your own MSCONFIG and need some assistance on what a certain program does, try this alternate site. It does a respectable job as far as I can see.

http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

Also, as a general rule of thumb, if you want to find out something about almost anything, Google it first.

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

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.

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!

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

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

 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 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.

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

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

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

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