Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

I have spoken to quite a few people recently who have purchased new computer’s, and it seems that many have been somewhat surprised to find that their brand new computer just doesn’t perform as they thought it would. Today, the major retailers are really pushing the entry-level low priced computers, and their advertisements focus on things like hard drive capacity and battery life. Unfortunately, most of these computers come with bargain CPU’s and just aren’t made for any kind of multitasking or even mid-range computer usage.

Sempron, Celeron, Atom, Neo - these are all names of Processors (CPU’s) that are designed to be low power usage (which equates to long battery life in laptops), but they are also low in performance. These processors will balk at multitasking (when you have multiple programs or windows open), and are very slow compared to the newer and much faster multi-core high performance processors which can be found in the mid to higher end computers at prices that really are not that much higher.

Many people tell me that they want a computer that is simply for web browsing, so they don’t need a performance computer. While a computer that is ’simply’ for web browsing certainly does not need to be a top of the line gaming type machine, many people do not realize that simple web browsing today is much more demanding on a computer than it was even a couple of years ago. Many web sites today rely on multiple technologies to serve up their web pages. When you visit a website, you are not only using the browser, but you are often using many browser plugins (separate programs) such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, Java, Quicktime, and others that help deliver the rich media content that we are fast become used to. In order to be able to effectively deliver all this content, you need a processor that is capable of handling it, as well as a good amount of memory (RAM).

So if you are considering a new computer, be aware that the small amount you may save going for the ‘bargain’ machines, will soon be lost in frustration and wasted time. Personally, I would stick with the newer Core 2 Duo/Quad processors, or the brand new i3, i5, and i7 processors for the best experience.

Here in Pensacola Florida, you can often find the best local deals at stores like Best Buy and Office Depot, however the best ‘advertised’ deals (cheapest) are often not the best deals for you. Despite what the seemingly knowing salesperson may say, (never listen to them), you really want a computer that isn’t going to end up frustrating you. The best thing to do is to do a bit of research first and go to the store already knowing what you want.Also, be aware that the retail stores are counting on you wasting money on things like their ‘optimization’ services and security software which is pretty much worthless crap, and the optimization is usually just simple things like removing the trial garbage software and doing the first set of Windows Updates (something you can do for yourself, and should do anyhow, that takes only a few minutes). There is also a newer practice of bundling security software and other things into the base price of the computer (stay away from Nortons, Mcafee etc). Always ask what the price of the computer is Without all the extra garbage!

In this series of PensacolaComputers Presents, we have a quick and easy tutorial on how to use the great AutoMovie feature in Windows Live Movie Maker to make a quick movie from a collection of photos. If you don’t have Windows Live Movie maker, it is a free download which you can get at http://get.live.come

Click Here to Watch on YouTube.com

For Best viewing, set YouTube player to 720p and go to full screen

Don’t get me wrong, Apple does make some fairly good products - their iPod’s are pretty good, the iPhone has certainly changed the way we look at mobile devices, and the Mac’s have always been pretty well made computers……but

Apple as a company today leaves much to be desired, and due to a number of factors, I refuse to support such a company until they make some serious changes.

First of all, Apple has seriously exploited workers in China for quite a while. In Apples own reports from last year (in which they try to cover the abuses by stating that they are working towards change - what a crock and a pitiful excuse!) 45 of 83 factories that were audited in China that built products for Apple were illegally not paying overtime to their workers, and 23 of these weren’t even paying some of their workers China’s minimum wage. Furthermore, 25 of these 83 were guilty of descrimination, and 22 of them (over 25% of the factories) didn’t meet environmental standards. (details here: http://bit.ly/appleExploitation ). In addition to these problems, just last week there was a strike at a factory in China that is a component supplier for Apple’s iPhone. Employees there went on strike after they said four employees died after exposure to hexane, a very toxic chemical that they used to clean touchscreen panels and can cause nervous system failures in humans.

Apple of course states that they are working on improving conditions, but in my eyes that is a cheap cop-out. Hey Apple, here’s an idea - why don’t you only contract to places and companies that follow the rules to begin with instead of exploiting people! Of course Apple could give back to the countries where it makes the most money by making their products there, but nooooo, that would cut into their profit pie too much and it is so much easier to use basically slave labor.

Then of course, there is the whole using other’s technology (stealing). Apple has a long history of illegally using other technology in their products without paying for it. And people say, yeah but other companies do the same thing - so fricking what! Apple should be responsible for their own actions regardless of other companies. Latest are the suits by Nokia, a long time player in the mobile phone market which has sued Apple for illegally using their technology in Apple products - this is the same technology that 40 other companies pay Nokia to use, but Apple sees themselves as above the law and refuses to pay. Apple introduces the iPhone (their first phone) only 2 years ago, whereas Nokia has been in the business for many years - do you honestly think that all the technology in the iPhone was all Apple’s idea? While technology theft and failure to pay fees for using another’s technology are commonplace, Apple’s philosophy though is that whenever someone sues them, they make up some BS countersuit and tie things up in courts for years and years, and why not, they are reaping (raping) profits the whole time.

Then of course is the whole ripping off of developers that Apple has been doing for years - I mean come on 30% cut off the top for iPhone apps? What a crock! Apple does very little except exercise it’s godlike powers in deciding what apps you can and can’t have on your phone, and yet it gets 30% of the profit of someone elses hard work! Not to mention the appropriation into the Mac OS of apps and such that were developed outside of Apple with no compensation or even credit given to the original developers - of course these individuals could sue Apple (and a few have) but Apple will just flex it’s legal muscles and countersue, or drag things out in the courts forever.

In addition, something that Apple gets away with that really pisses me off - it’s ok to run Windows on a Mac, Apple even supports it to help them sell more of their products, but woe forbid someone tries to install the Mac OS on a computer that Apple didn’t profit off of and they immediatley issue C&D orders - what kind of crap is that? If that isn’t a seriously wrong double standard I don’t know what is.

So if you want to buy an Apple product, just be aware that by doing so you are supporting Apple’s exploitation of Chinese workers, their illegal use of other companies technology, their abuse and ripping off of developers, and their wonderful double standards. To Apple it’s all about the profit, and things like morals and ethics don’t even get in the back seat, but rather get dragged under the bus. While I know that plenty of others do much the same, that is simply not an excuse for Apple to do it too!

It seems that there is another ‘wave’ of scareware running through the Pensacola area (and probably everywhere), as I have seen a number of systems this past week infected with the latest batch of malware that tries to scare the user by constant pop-ups telling them their computer is infected with this or that. With names like Security Suite, Antivirus 2010, Security 360, these latest malware infections are part of a growing trend of scareware. Often a computer is first infected with a virus or malware which has a sole purpose of downloading other malware behind the scenes and within hours of the original infection, your computer has multiple infections and slows down to a crawl. When these types of infections hit, the best thing to do is immediately shut down your computer (Don’t click on any of the pop-ups or links!), and then start the fixing/healing process.

Depending on the severity of the infection, there is hope that you can easily remove the problem yourself. The first step is to reboot into ’safe mode’ - you can do this by restarting the computer, and pressing the F8 key before Windows starts to load (generally I recommend pressing the F8 key about once a second as soon as the computer restarts). Once you get into safe mode, you will want to chose the option to try to Restore your system to an earlier time (this is Windows System Restore - not to be confused with the Manufacturers Restore which you don’t want to use at this point because that will erase your hard drive). Windows System Restore will basically move your system back to a point before it was infected, making the virus/malware files inactive - I recommend picking a date at least a couple of days before you first noticed the symptoms of the infection. If System restore is successful (it will tell you whether or not it worked when your computer restarts and gets back into Windows), you then need to run a full antivirus and antispyware/malware scan  to remove any remnants of the virus/malware (make sure to update your antivirus/antispyware software before running the scan). If System restore doesn’t work, or there are no restore points available, then depending upon your level of computer skills, you can either attempt manual removal, or take it to a professional (please not the squad of geeks, or any large consumer electronics store repair as they will overcharge you and you take the risk of losing all your data if you don’t have a current backup).

These infections come in from many sources, the most popular being through social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace etc. Never click on links or update any computer software from within Facebook or MySpace type sites. Another way of getting these infections is through email attachments - you should never download or open any email attachment unless you specifically know that a specific person was sending you an attachment - people who FWD constantly all the ‘funny’ messages with links to videos and such are some of the worst spreaders of these types of infections. Clicking a link in an email can lead you to a malicious website that can install this bad software on your computer. Make sure you have adequate and up-to-date antivirus and antispyware/antimalware softare installed and running on your machine - check out Pensacola Computers Tech Support page  for info and links to the best free and paid for Antivirus and Antispyware products.

Pensacola cell phone users who have service with Verizon and ATT will need to check with their carriers starting next week to see if there is a better and cheaper plan available. Starting Monday, Verizon is dropping the prices on many of its popular service packages, some with a significant savings! According to Verizon, switching plans will be free and there is no requirement to extend your current contract. AT&T, faced with so much bad press lately, responded with their own price cuts after the Verizon announcement

This is great news for cell phone users, but of course there is a catch. There will soon be mandatory data fees for all phones capable of internet accesss (all the smart phones like the new Droid already have these fees). That coupled with the fact that you still have to ask for the switch in plans is sure to bring Verizon some increased revenues. In a time when the cell phone carriers are battling, Verizon has taken the first swing which has forced the faltering AT&T to step up with a price cut of their own. AT&T has been recently battling a wave of negative publicity due to their poorly rated customer service and 3G coverage areas, not to mention all the bad press with Apple,  and the iPhone (with Apple being sued by many huge companies for technology theft/patent infringement there is a good chance that they are either going to be paying a lot, or losing the ability to sell their current products).

For those with cell phone plans with Verizon or AT&T, be sure to check with them in the next week or so to see if you can save some money by switching to one of their new plans!!

Windows 7 has been out for a few months now, and most all new PC’s being sold include it. Here in Pensacola, the major retailers all have computers with Windows 7 pre-installed (beware of some of them trying to sell you the ‘added’ services like creating a backup disk for 30 bucks - anyone can do this easily themselves!)

Windows 7 brings a host of new features to the desktop and many people are unaware how to use all of them. Fear not, Microsoft has a great set of webpages that outline the new features of Windows 7, and include a number of how-to videos to help you get the most out of working with Windows 7. They also have a great help section to help with issues such as upgrades from Windows Vista, and making older programs run in Windows 7.

Here are some helpful links to get you started with Windows 7:

 For general help and troubleshooting - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help

Getting started with Windows 7 - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/getting-started

A great collection of Windows 7 how-to videos - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/videos

Install/reinstall/unistall tips for Windows -  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/install-reinstall-uninstall

Windows 7 features - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features

Windows 7 downloads Themes, Backgrounds, and Gadgets - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/personalize

Chain Reaction, a youth volunteer organization here in Pensacola Florida is in need of about 20 gently used computers to be used for aptitude tests help show students with waning academic interests that there are still career options available to them (by gently used, they mean computers less than 5 years old that in are in good working order, either laptops or desktops). The computerized tests will also be used to help match kids with volunteer work that will hold their interest.

If you have a computer that you would like to donate (donations are tax deductible), you can donate them at the Chain Reaction office at:  840 W. Moreno St. beginning Jan. 4. If you need a donation letter, you can contact Kristin Fairchild at 850-202-0691 or by email at KFairchild@mychainreaction.org

Microsoft has a killer deal for college students with a valid edu email address - Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional for only $29.99 at http://win741.com This deal ends at 11:59 PM on January 4th, so you better hurry up!!

You can choose either Home Premium or Professional (you might as well get PRO as it has everything in Home Premium plus some extra’s like being able to join a domain). You can also choose either 32 or 64 bit versions - if you have more than 2 GB of RAM, 64 bit is probably the best way to go. You can also do an upgrade or a fresh install - I highly recommend getting the .iso version rather than the .exe version as you can easily burn the .iso version to a DVD for a clean install, whereas the .exe version can only be used to do an upgrade from within an existing version of Windows (the .iso can also be used this way).

Microsoft is also offering Office 2007 Ultimate to students for $59.99 through their ultimate steal promotion: http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx - better hurry for this one too!

This year has certainly seen an explosion of new ’smart’ devices. From the much overhyped and pitifully supported (by ATT’s crappy network and Apple’s overly controlling attitude) iPhone, to the Droid, to the latest crop of mini-netbooks and iType devices. Unfortunately, one has to wonder if these smart devices make us smarter, or do they in fact actually dumb us down to their level? Sure, it is convenient to be able to surf the web and explore things through our phones and other mini-devices, but how much time do we lose and waste by trying to type out emails and text messages on mini or virtual keyboards? I have seen people spend many minutes composing emails on their smartphones that would have taken mere seconds to compose and send on their computers, yet many people seem to prefer to struggle away in their quest for instant gratification.

Now, I will be the first to admit that there are some incredibly cool and useful applications available on today’s crop of ’smart’ devices, and I have certainly used many of them on more than one occasion, however I personally hate trying to type on a mini-keyboard, and I much prefer to surf the web on a nice 24″ widescreen monitor, rather than zooming, and scrolling and scrolling and zooming my way through a web page on a mobile browser. And yes, I will admit that sometimes I do ‘need’ to check and respond to an email on the go, but unless it really is super urgent, I will wait until I am at a real computer before I respond, and I have learned to never EVER try to read, much less respond to anything while doing things like driving (or having a conversation with someone - that is just sooo rude!).

There is always a line between convenience and over-dependence. When we stop using our brains because it is easier to rely on our devices, well then that is the day we are just asking for our batteries to die and leave us stranded in the middle of no-where (seriously, if your GPS gets you lost and you can’t just turn around and go back the way you came, you shouldn’t be driving in the first place!)

According to a new report released by the Mcafee Security Labs, social networking sites like Facebook can expect more attention from cybercriminal in 2010. The director of security research at Mcafee, David Marcus, expects “an explosion of Facebook and other services targeted by cybercriminals.”  Marcus expects an increase in rogue Facebook applications in addition to malware like Koobface that spreads among Facebook users’ friends lists.

Marcus explains “When you click yes to ‘do you want to allow this application to access your Facebook account,’ you’re giving that application access to all the data in your Facebook account.” With so many people using Facebook now, this is a prime way for scammers and spammers to not only harvest user data, but to have a direct line into people’s computers to install rogue applications.

Because Facebook allows these ‘third-party’ applications to be installed within the Facebook framework, this leaves a huge vulnerability hole open for malicious exploits. In today’s world, all it takes is one rogue application making through to your computer for the floodgates to open - and a word to the wise - even if you don’t run a PC and think your ’secure’ Mac computer will protect you, think again - Macs are just as vulnerable to infections, and perhaps even more so considering the lack of good security software installed on most Apple systems. In addition, rogue applications that work on the browser level to infect and steal your Facebook account data don’t care what OS or security software you are using - they grab the data right out of your account on the web level.

So what should you do? Well the best thing to do is to not use Facebook, however for some, that just isn’t an option. For those who just can’t live without it, you should take sensible precautions: only install apps from within Facebook by clicking browse more applications in the Facebook application installer (this will allow only ‘approved’ applications to be installed - not a total guarantee, but definitely safer). Also, never ever lend your credentials to friends or family members, and never click on links directly - instead copy and paste them into your address bar so you can ensure where you are going first (if you don’t know the website, don’t go there!).

To read the full report by Mcafee, go here: http://www.mcafee.com/us/local_content/white_papers/7985rpt_labs_threat_predict_1209_v2.pdf

For the audio interview podcast of David Marcus for CNET: http://radiolarry.com/cnetaudio/mcafeereport2010.mp3