The Everyday IT Blog
Personal Computing Demystified.
Know your Antivirus/Anti-Spyware software..
0I got a call from a very freaked-out relative a few weeks ago.. this person was very, very worried because out of the blue a program was telling them that they had a ton of viruses on their system and they were being warned that their personal banking information had been exposed to hackers. I got this person to calm down a bit and asked if they had clicked on anything in that window.. and luckily they hadn’t. This person had nearly fallen prey to a type of potential malware called “scareware”.
What is “Scareware”, you ask? Technically speaking.. it is a piece of software designed to fool the average computer user into paying for a service that they don’t need by convincing them that they do in fact need what the scammer is selling. The most common scareware I’ve seen in the past few months is the very same one that my relative stumbled upon.. a fake antivirus program that looks very, very real – all the way down to the Windows Vista-styled icons. In this case the fake AV program was only a pop-up ad, albeit a very dangerous one.. click anywhere in the window and, voila – spyware infection. This is the very reason that you need to know exactly what antivirus and anti-spyware you have installed on your system.. if something different comes up you can kill it via the Windows taskbar.
If you’re not sure what antivirus or anti-spyware software you’re currently running is called I’ll be happy to help you.. just drop me a line.
Microsoft is jumping on the free office suite bandwagon.. finally.
0470 days
by admin
in Personal Computing
Openoffice.org has been the go-to open-source office suite platform for some time now, and it is by far my best recommendation if you need compatibility with the M$ office file formats but don’t really have the cash to get there. Microsoft (in true Microsoft fashion) has finally conceded that there is a place in their product portfolio for a limited-functionality version for a few pieces of the Office suite.. so enter Microsoft Office 2010 Starter edition.
What’s the catch?
Of course there’s a catch. For starters, Office 2010 starter is only available on a new PC. Second, you only get Word and Excel, and the functionality of these apps is somehow limited. Third – you’ll have to put up with ads. It is what it is.
My mother just got herself a new pc after having needed a replacement for a little while and it came with Office 2010 starter. I got that running for her and it does indeed fulfill her needs for an office suite.. and to be honest, the ads aren’t really all that intrusive.
Good show Microsoft.. even though you’re years late to the party!
Windows 7 SP1 – sorry for the hype.
0566 days
I’ve been running Windows 7 SP1 for about a week now.. and it has been largely underwhelming. I knew that there were no new features in the service pack, mainly just specific bug fixes and a few low-level security fixes – I guess I was expecting more. Maybe a shiny SP1 badge or something. Oh well. So, why would Microsoft release a hodgepodge of patches in this manner? I think I know the reason – Corporate Adoption. There’s an unwritten rule in IT shops across the globe – don’t install a new Microsoft OS until it reaches service pack 1 status. IT managers would rather read about the trials and tribulations of installing the latest and greatest OS from an outside source than from an internal email from the sysadmins they employ. While I believe that Windows 7 is seeing higher adoption rates (that statement is based on how we’re handling it in my company) it still hasn’t attained that magical SP1 badge and that *might* be keeping some folks away from deploying it.
So.. brass tacks. When SP1 pops up for you to install via Windows Update – go for it. As with any update be sure you have a backup just in case.. and if you’re not doing backups, you should be. Click here for my thoughts on that.
Happy Computing!
