Hackers: Cyber Scapegoats

Hackers are everywhere. If we do not keep constantly vigilant against them they will hack into your computer, steal your identification and credit card numbers, place child porn and bestiality pictures on your hard drive, melt down your CPU, and impregnate your household pets. Right?

In reality, Hackers are rarely involved in most of the things people think they are. People tend to use Hackers as fall guys. Whenever something happens to a computer or a user's information and the user (or their well meaning friends) don't know the cause, it is usually attributed to Hackers, viruses or viruses planted by Hackers. The truth is, the culprit is usually:

1. The user's own carelessness
2. Assholes exploiting #1

The absolute most common reason for computer problems is user error. The problem is, users are often so sure that they know what they are doing that they are unwilling to admit they made a mistake. One thing people seem to forget about the Internet is that there is no police or government, the Internet is almost total anarchy.

Enter the assholes. Because of the recent boom of the personal computer without an equally strong education in adapting to the new technology, opportunists (assholes) have found a new way to trick people into buying things they don't want or need, giving out personal information, and relinquishing control of their computers. These assholes are NOT Hackers, however, they are capitalists. About 75% of the malicious internet-born activity around today is created by people looking to make money. Another 20% is people just being assholes to make themselves feel smarter than everyone else. Only about 5% is actual Hacker activity. To prove my point, look at the picture below... the actual download link is not even on that screen, but further down on the page:

The fake ones look pretty convincing huh? They are meant to hijack your clicks and trick you into downloading Spyware or Malware, or at least force you to read some more ads. This kind of trickery is especially prominent on social media sites such as Facebook and My___.

THIS is how Facebook accounts become compromised, NOT from Hackers.

That kind of deception is not the work of a Hacker. It is the work of normal people trying to screw other people with the full knowledge that they can not be held accountable.

This is not to say that Hackers can not be dangerous or do not use viruses to gain access to exploits, but it is MUCH harder than most people realize. Hackers believe that all information should be free and find it a challenge to gain access to that information. A Hacker by the name of Tim Berner-Lee created the Internet; and to this date, Internet access is 100% free. The fee you pay every month for internet access is not paying for the Internet, but the means to reach it (data lines, overhead costs for keeping servers running, etc). The Internet itself is free to access, download and use at your leisure.

That being said, the average person's credit card information and computer files are not worth a Hacker's time and effort. Newer operating systems with access control and built-in firewalls are difficult and time consuming to gain unauthorized access to. Unless you have very sought-after information or personally pissed a Hacker off, chances are they have no interest in you.

Outdated Windows advice that may actually harm your computer's performance. (Part One)

As a computer technician I get a lot of advice from customers. For some reason, people tend to believe everything they hear or read on the internet, especially when multiple nut-jobs confirm it. Then, in an attempt to show me how much they know, they let me in on the secrets.

For the most part, the advice is either half true, used to be true, or relatively harmless and a matter of preference. Some of the advice floating around out there, however, is at best harmful to your computer's performance, and at worst, can actually damage your computer's hardware.

Deleting Cookies, Browser History, Temporary Internet files, etc.

The Theory: Cookies, browser history, and temporary Internet files will slow down your computer and / or give away personal information to other people on the Internet.

The Truth: These files are put in your computer to speed up your internet experience. Unless you have a very small hard drive or do not want someone else that physically uses your computer to know what you have been doing on it, the files are harmless and removing them will actually slow down your browsing experience.

More Info: The misconceptions about these files are that if they are left on your computer, outside sources will be able to track your internet usage and / or steal your personal information.

• Browser History - In truth, only a person that physically uses the same computer that your history is saved on has any access to your history. The files are not accessible from legitimate 3rd party programs. If you have spyware or other malware infecting your computer, on the other hand, this may change. The solution is not to get rid of the browsing history, but rather to get rid of the malicious software accessing it. 
• Temporary Internet Files - these files are ones that your browser downloads to your computer such as images or sounds that are used in displaying the website. Most browsers automatically delete these files after a preset time if they are not used again or take up more than a preset amount of space. Users that play any form of browser game; such as Facebook games, Runescape, online poker, etc. will actually cause their games to load and run slower by deleting these files.
• Cookies - Oh the dreaded cookie... the bane of Internet users since the dawn of time (or early 90's, whatever). Ever since people discovered that websites stored cookies on computers there have been horror stories and conspiracy theories about the evils of the deliciously-innocent sounding file and what they are doing to your computer. But what are cookies if not demonic mini-viruses hell bent on destroying your happiness? They are text files. Plain text files. 

So if a cookie is just a text file, it must contain all of your personal information right? Everything a hacker needs to steal your identity and give your puppy worms? If not, why else would everyone "know" cookies are bad?

The anti-cookie campaign sprung up about the same time as Windows 98, which came with Internet Explorer pre-installed. Users found that these tiny files were saving information about your visit to the website and all kinds of big-brother theories exploded into life. It is all part of the anti Microsoft / anti Internet Explorer rhetoric we still hear about today. So what does a cookie actually contain?

Here is the actual cookie that this blog puts on my computer when I log in. What you can tell from reading this cookie is:

1. It is for this blog.
2. I was on Facebook before I cane here. (for website statistic purposes)
3. My username and password for the site is stored in an encrypted file on my computer, and my browser should retrieve it if not over the expiration time for the cookie.

For more information on the truth and fiction about cookies, there is a great article on Life Hacker about them HERE.


Registry Errors and Broken Shortcuts

The Theory: You need to scan for and fix Registry Errors and Broken Shortcuts regularly and if you have them often, there is something wrong with my computer.

The Truth: Registry Errors and Broken Shortcuts CAN slow down your computer over time, but are perfectly normal.

More Info: Programs that scan for and "fix" registry errors are a bit misleading. What they actually do is read the registry entries and make sure all of the files they refer to actually exist. The program has no idea if the values in your registry are as they should be, it only knows if an entry refers to a file that is no longer there. The same is true with the broken shortcuts, only the name is slightly less misleading; the shortcuts are not broken (and thus not fixed) they simply refer to a file that is no longer there and are removed. Most broken shortcuts occur in "recent files" lists after a file has been deleted.

These errors are perfectly normal and occur almost any time any file is moved or deleted. In extreme cases, the registry entries may slow down your computer's start-up or the launching of a program because the registry refers to a file that is no longer there, so your computer takes a few milliseconds to look for it before moving on. In the days of Windows 95, 98, and even some in XP (pre Service Pack 2), a missing file in a registry entry could make the computer come to a halt altogether. With newer OS's, the computer is smart enough to just skip that entry and move on after a few milliseconds... but they can add up. This is the registry errors after about 8 hours of active use on my computer since the last cleaning:

Bottom line, registry repair programs do help, but are not miracle cures. Finding errors (even hundreds at once) does not mean there is something wrong with your computer. It's like tossing a bunch of stuff into a drawer; when you see something that is not useful, you toss it to the side and keep looking... registry repair programs remove the useless stuff from the drawer so you can find the useful stuff faster.


Disk Defragmentation

The Theory: Disk fragmentation can slow a computer down to a crawl. Complete defragmentation should be performed on a regular basis and as a preventative measure.

The Truth: Disk fragmentation CAN slow down your computer any time it seeks information off the hard drive. How much? Well that depends, but excessive defragmentation can be FAR more harmful to your computer than you may think.

More Info: If you use an older computer like Windows 95 or 98 that uses the FAT32 file system the decrease in performance can be very significant. Windows XP introduced the NTFS (NT File System) to home users and its indexes are much more capable of handling moderate fragmentation without as much performance loss making defragmentation somewhat less important.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 automatically defragment in the background dynamically as it is needed (during down time such as whenever the screensaver is on) and virtually eliminate the need for users to run Disk Defrag.

How could defragmentation possibly be harmful to your computer? Defragmentation puts more stress on the hard drive than any other operation you could possibly perform. The heat and wear incurred on the drive during the process make it paramount that you only defragment when absolutely necessary.

I had a customer that came to me complaining about how his hard drives kept dying on him, like about every 6-months to a year. He was pissed off and assuming it was Windows' fault (even threatened to switch to a Mac "because they don't need defragmented" *False statement, but not going to get into it on this post*). After talking with him a bit, he told me that he defragmented his hard drive EVERY DAY. There is no wonder his drives died out fast, that is more use put on a drive in a week than most users put on a drive in a year! He was even running Windows 7 which straight out tells him...look man, you don't need to defragment this drive... but if you REALLY want to... I guess I will. His reason for doing it is because some "computer guru" told him to. The only real-world parallel I can think of is if you drove your car everywhere with the emergency break partially on so that you stop faster... then wonder why your brakes wear out fast.

One more piece of advice on Disk defragmentation: If you use a 3rd-party defragmentation program, use the same one ALL THE TIME. Defragmentation programs differ in what they consider to be fragmentation, as well as what levels are acceptable. While writing this, I used two programs to analyze my drives and see if they needed defragmented. The first, was Windows 7's built in Disk Defragmenter (Top) and the other is TuneUp Drive Defrag (Bottom).

See the difference in the supposed fragmentation between each program? If I were to run one, then the other back and forth for eternity, they would never agree.


In part two of this series I will be discussing the need for 3rd party firewalls and WiFi Encryption plus whatever else I think of by then. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments; please post them below or on my Facebook page!

Computer Terms: How not to feel like a dummy (Part 2)

This post is a continuation of my last blog entry on computer hardware terminology. What follows is a brief index of commonly used computer function terms that may help explain to the service technician what the problem is or when it occurred.

Upload and Download

The terms I hear misused most commonly are Upload and Download. For the most part, uploading and downloading refer to transferring data to and from the Internet.

These terms can be a bit confusing, however, because they can also be used to describe the transfer of data on a network subjective to the user's hierarchy on the network. Downloading is when you transfer data from a computer that is higher than yours on the hierarchy. Uploading is when you transfer files to a computer that is higher than yours.






Cut, Copy, Move, Burn, and Rip

 When something is "cut" or "copied", it is sent to the "clipboard" which is a temporary space in the memory (RAM) until it is "pasted". The difference between cutting and copying is that when you cut, the original is removed and when you copy the original remains. Whenever something is placed back onto the computer or media from RAM it is known as "pasting". It is impossible to paste without first copying or cutting.


Dragging and Dropping are also forms of using cut, copy and paste. When dragging and dropping a file from one physical media to another, the data will be copied. When the process is performed and both the original location and destination location are on the same physical media, the data will be moved (cut and pasted).


For the most part, data is "copied" from one device to another  as long as the original device retains the original file. Moving data is almost the same as copying, but the data no longer remains at the original location.


CD and DVD-ROMs are what's known as optical disks. Optical disks have their own terminology due to the laser that is used. Writing data to an optical disk is known as "Burning" because the laser physically etches ones and zeroes onto the surface of the disk. Transferring data from an optical disk is often referred to as "ripping". This is not to be confused with the installation process that happens when you insert an optical disk and run a program from the disk itself.

Installing, Uninstalling, and Deleting

Installing and Uninstalling is when a program is put onto or removed from your computer. This differs from copying and moving in that most installation and un-installation processes involve moving files from multiple locations.  

Think of it as luggage. When you come home from a trip, you may have several items in your luggage, but they don't all go to the same place. Some may go to the dresser, others to a closet, toiletries to the bathroom etc. Installing a program is the same concept. There are files that may need to go to Program Files, others to the system folder, and others to the desktop. That is installation, and during the installation a record is kept of what was put where.


When you uninstall that same program, you use that list of where everything was put to find those items that you put away, but instead of putting them back in the luggage, you throw them away. 

On the other hand, if you just try to delete something, you may throw away a few drawers of stuff but forget the toiletries in the bathroom. Those items that are left over are taking up unnecessary space at best, and at worst could cause a lot of confusion for your computer.


Part three of the terminology will cover internet colloquialisms such IM, email, bookmarking, favorites, RSS feeds, Twitter, toolbars and search providers.

Computer Terms: How not to feel like a dummy.

One of the most common things I notice when talking to customers that aren't technically savvy is that they are unsure what to call different parts of their computer, how to explain what their computer is doing, or what questions to ask. This is going to be a bit of a techno-term lesson for those that don't want to risk being taken advantage of.

Some less than scrupulous repair technicians feed on customer misinformation to sell them stuff they don't need. They hear the customer misuse terminology and see dollar signs, knowing they can talk over the customer's head and sell them more parts or services than they really need.

Please understand this is not meant to be condescending, but an informational lesson.

Standard Components

The Tower

The main component of the computer is the tower. It may be referred to as the CPU, but that is incorrect as you will see. This is the main, all inclusive component of the computer. Everything not contained in this box is considered a peripheral component.

This empty shell is referred to as the case. The case holds all of the major components of the computer. The wires you see are connections for the various lights and external ports on the case. They will be connected to the motherboard. The case type is determined by they type of motherboard it can support. (Ex. AT, ATX, MicroATX)










The Motherboard (Mainboard)
This is the major base component for the computer. The Motherboard (or Mainboard) is what everything plugs in to. It ties all of the components of the computer together and is arguably the most important part of the computer. The motherboard controls what components can be used with the computer so it ultimately decides how upgradable the computer is.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU, Processor)

The Central Processing Unit (sometimes called the CPU or Processor) is the "brain" of the operation. The CPU processes all information into and out of the computer. The CPU's processing ability is one of the most important functions of the computer. There are several types of processors and most motherboards can only support one type of processor (usually determined by the number or arrangement of pins on the CPU). The CPU plugs into a "socket" on the motherboard. This is measured in speeds such as Megahertz (MHz) and Gigahertz  (GHz); typically the larger number the better (More on that in a later post).

The CPU Heat Sink and Fan

On top of the CPU is a heat sink and fan. The Heat Sink draws heat away from the CPU itself and allows the fan to disburse the heat. It is important that the fan and heat sink are installed properly and are clean so that the heat can efficiently be removed from the CPU. An overheating CPU can cause your computer to shut off at random.

There is typically a layer of Thermal Compound, or paste that helps the transfer of heat from the CPU to the heat sink. The more heat transferred to the heat sink, the cooler and more efficient the CPU can run.





The Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The Power Supply Unit provides electrical power to the motherboard and all of the other components contained inside the tower. The motherboard and components will determine the type and size of power supply required. Typically the PSU is measured by its type and maximum output in Watts. (Ex. 350 Watt ATX power supply)






Random Access Memory (RAM, memory)

Random Access Memory or RAM stores the information that the CPU is manipulating in real time. Also known as volatile memory, the information stored in the RAM only exists temporarily and disappears when the computer is shut off.

RAM is a major factor in determining the speed of a computer as having too little can cause a bottleneck. As the CPU manipulates information it is loaded from storage media into the RAM, while in the RAM, the CPU can manipulate the information as needed, and then the information is written back to storage media. Modern computers can use part of the hard drive to create a "swap file" or "virtual memory" in case the computer is lacking on physical RAM, but manipulating information in the swap file is MUCH slower than in RAM.
 RAM is typically measured in capacity (Megabytes (MB) or Gigabytes(GB) and larger is usually better (more on that in a later post).

Hard Disk Drive (HDD, Hard Drive)

The hard disk drive is also known as storage media or non-volatile memory. The hard drive stores all of the programs, pictures and music on your computer. Unlike RAM, the information stored on the hard drive remains until overwritten, even if the computer is shut off.

Hard drives are typically rated by type, speed, and size. (Ex. 7200RPM SATA 500GB)






Optional Components

Video Graphics Adapter (Video Card)

The video graphics adapter (video card) is an optional part of a computer. Some computers have on-board graphics on the motherboard. Unfortunately, the on-board graphics have to share resources with all other aspects of computation and are limited by what ever resources are left.

As operating systems, programs, and games become more graphically intense, the lack of a dedicated video card can cripple an otherwise fast system. The dedicated card takes care of all aspects of the graphics processing and sends the finished information to and from the CPU in a high speed connection called a bus. The graphics card is limited to the port types available on the motherboard and typically have their own built-in RAM used for video only. Common video card types are PCI, AGP, and PCI-e.

Sound Card

Most modern motherboards have built-in sound  capable of 5.1 or better surround sound.  If not, your computer may have a sound card that plugs into the motherboard and provides sound output.







Dial-Up Modem

If you have an older computer or still use dial-up internet, you likely have an internal modem. The modem allows the computer to communicate with other computers over an analog telephone line.








Network Interface Card (NIC)

If you have broadband internet (cable, DSL, Fiber Optics), chances are you have a network interface card. In many cases these too are integrated into the motherboard, but if not there may be a card as shown on the right. These typically connect to an external modem (below left) or router (below right).

Monitor (display)

No computer is complete without the monitor. Most people know what a monitor is, so this is just an explanation of the common monitor types.

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

The most common monitor type is the Cathode-Ray Tube monitor (CRT) these are the big, desk hogging monitors that look like TVs. They are capable of extremely high resolutions but consume much more power than their LCD counterparts.




Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor is not able to reproduce the extremely high resolutions that a CRT can, but they are increasingly common because of their ability to display widescreen aspect ratios, lower power consumption, and small footprint.










Part Two of my computer terms will explain procedure terminology such as upload, download, install, uninstall, burning, ripping, and formatting.

Nobody Lies on the Internet... Right?

On a quiet September morning I logged into Facebook to see what my fellow intarweb denizens were doing only to find this plastered all over my wall:

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY.

 WTF? Again? Didn't they already snuff this rumor? Well much to my chagrin, I saw more and more of my friends falling for this and littering my intarwebs with it so now I feel I must do what I can to educate people. Bear with me, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

How to Tell if Something on the Internet is Fake (Generally):

1. If it is in all caps, it is most likely fake. Yes, some people use caps to drive home a point, but if it was real, it would be done sparingly. Most people would caps a SINGLE word to drive home a point, NOT THE WHOLE POST.
2. There is no way to accurately measure the results of forwarded / spammed / re-posted crap. No company uses it because it is impossible for them to determine a result. If a single poster were to change a single letter of the post down-line in the marketing campaign would fail to register. Companies use actual metrics such as "Like" clicks or unique page hits to determine popularity. This kind of gullibility hoax has been used for many years on the internet. People get a kick out of seeing how many people they can get to spread their chain-spam. No format is safe, email, every IM in existence, My Space, now Facebook... they have all had similar scams.
3. Check it out on Snopes.com ! Snopes is a rumor and urban legend database that will tell you if something is real or not. Before sending or posting a chain-letter, check them out. It may save you some embarrassment.
4. The bigger and more intrusive the ad, the more likely it is to be fake. Ever see those ads that flash and say you are the 1,000,000,000th visitor? Win a free ______ by just clicking here or taking a survey? Those are ALL fake. Period. They will string you along and make you think they just need a bit more info... would you like free car insurance quotes? All you need to do is sign up for this MasterCard and you get your free iPod no matter what! - Yea... no... those are fake my friend. You end up giving out personal information and signing up for even more spam.
5. B.S. Proof - Your Facebook Icon will turn Blue indicating that you successfully spammed your friends so now FB will be free... really? Have you ever seen Facebook? Blue is Facebook's trademarked color. It is and always has been blue. Take a good look at the "proof" that is offered and many times you will find it is even more B.S. than the post itself.
6. If something makes you share it with your friends before you can access the information (share this to at least 10 Facebook friends to see this shocking picture!) it's fake. Not only is it fake, and most likely leading to malicious software, you have now recommended it to your friends as well... that ought to get you invited to the next family Bris.

This all stems from this Weekly World News post:
FACEBOOK TO CHARGE USERS! | Weekly World News
Which also reported on:
ALIEN SPACESHIPS TO ATTACK EARTH IN NOVEMBER! | Weekly World News
KIM KARDASHIAN’S BUTT EXPLODES | Weekly World News
and
FACEBOOK WILL END ON MARCH 15th, 2012! | Weekly World News
Totally. Reputable. 

Other Hoax Examples:
AOL Circa 2004-2005:

Dear America Online and Instant Messages users:

Our America online staff is planning to take away IM
by July
18th, 2005. If you want to keep our IM free of charge,
send this email to
everyone you know. It will be used as a petition. Each
person you send
this to counts as one "signature" If this petition
gets 100,000 signatures
they will keep AOL IM.

Yahoo IM:

HERE WE GO AGAIN GUYS, JUST KEEP PASSING THE MESSAGES ALONG....... SORRY TO BREAK THE NEWS BUT HAVE 8 DAYS OR U CAN SAY GOODBYE TO UR ACCOUNT.YAHOO IS GOING TO CHARGE $10.00 A MONTH FOR INSTANT MESSANGER TO WHOEVER DOESNT SEND THIS MESSAGE.UR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED. PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE. LOVE U ALL .....

Another AOL /AIM:

Dear AIM users,Because of our overloading of our servers, we are being forced to extract our non-active AIM users. Because this is a free service, AOL has exceeded the budget for the AIM service. We are asking that you send this exact message to 20 other AIM users to ensure us that you're an active AIM user. Our system tracking devise will pick up this message to keep you on our active list. You have 72 hours to complete this task or your service will be cancelled immediately. Starting JulY 30, 2005, we will be charging a small fee for registering of a screen name for AIM. Thank you for your time and for using AOL or AIM.Sincerely,Mark Jenkins AOL Owner and Founder

Facebook - 2010:

Dear Facebook Members,

Facebook is suppose to be closing down March 15th it has recently becoming very overpopulated. There have been many members complaining that Facebook is becoming very slow. Records show that the reason is that there are many active Facebook members and, on the other side, many new Facebook members.

We will be sending this message around to see if members are active or not. If you are active please send to at least 15 other users using Copy+Paste to show that you are still active. *Those who do not send this message within 2 weeks will be deleted without hesitation to create more space.*

Send this message to all your friends and to show me that your still active and you will not be deleted.

Founder of Facebook,

Mark Zuckerberg .

Another Facebook - July 2011 (before the changes):

Its official.. signal at 12;20 it even passed on tv. Facebook will start charging this summer. If you copy this on your wall your icon will turn blue and facebook will be free for you. Please pass this message if not your count will be deleted. p.s, this is serious the icon turns blue, So please put this as your status

Anyone see a pattern here?

Update; I just found these and they need to be added here:

 

48 hours of Windows 8

Before I really get into this, please let me point out that at the time of this writing, Windows 8 is in a Developer's Preview (pre-beta) so it is VERY rough. I would also like to point out that I did early testing for both Windows Vista (Longhorn) and Windows 7 and I absolutely HATED both of them. Upon actual release, however, I loved them, so keep that in mind as you read on.

The Windows Developer Preview (Windows 8) can be found HERE for any of you brave enough to try it yourself. This is NOT a stable release however so do not expect it to run perfectly.

First Impressions
After downloading the 64-bit version .iso and burning it to a disk I performed a clean install. The very first thing I noticed was that it did not ask me for a username and password, instead it asked for my Windows Live credentials and used them.

I was not overly thrilled about that since I barely use my Windows Live account, but it's not really any different than Android using Google accounts so I played along.

Once the installation was finished, I was presented with this screen... this is the new Metro Start ...page? menu? whatever you call it, it's pretty Metro.

You may be asking why I am using camera shots, and not screenshots... at this point I still had no idea how to take screenshots with Windows 8. Here is the Start screen scrolled to the far right.

As you can see, I had already pinned Facebook to the start screen. It appears kind of like a widget on a phone OS and can be moved around to any location on the Start screen.

My first impression: I did not like it... this was not my phone it was my computer, but I decided to keep an open mind. 

Figuring Things Out

The interface was obviously made for a touch screen. The manipulation of the screen is a bit awkward with a mouse, especially when you are supposed to swipe (click and drag with a mouse). Shortly after installation the OS installed some updates and I was prompted to reboot. What appeared on reboot was a pleasant picture with a clock. And that's it. Only after clicking around did I (accidentally) figure out I was supposed to swipe the picture up to gain access to the login screen.

After a bit more fumbling around, I found the Desktop. This screenshot shows both monitors as I saw them:

here is a closeup of the watermark:

The quality is kinda bad, but that's because it was taken with the camera on my phone and the monitor sits at an angle on my desk.

I started playing with some of the Apps Yes, I said Apps, that's what they are called in this version. When you install a new program, you are told you have installed a new App (short for application). Not sure why, I guess App is more Metro than Program... but I digress...

The pre-installed apps were pretty much useless, some were little time-killer games, and some flat out refused to work...
This one is called Paint Play:

It is kind of like paint, only much more useless. As far as I can tell all you can do with it is draw... different pen sizes and colors... neato. I assume you can collaborate with friends on it, as that would be its only saving grace.


The Socialite app, on the other hand is pretty cool. Like its Apple OS predecessor, Socialite is a social networking all-in-one collaboration kind of like Friend Stream for Android. It allows you to view friend streams from multiple sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc...

This is the main page, once you connect it to accounts the pictures here are replaces with ones from your actual feeds.

Here is a picture of the screenshot sharing through Socialite, unfortunately, I never figured out how to hide the green side panel... it wasn't really a priority.

Why I Went Back to Windows 7
I never intended on leaving this OS on my system, but I wanted to use it at least a week. Unfortunately, I was unable to because I need my computer to be able perform basic functions. One of the most basic functions, that of my standard SATA DVD-RW was not working. The same DVD-RW I used to burn the .iso and install Windows 8. The device still showed up fine in BIOS but was missing in Windows 8. That was the killing blow, but not the only problem. Other problems included:

• My anti-virus would not install (Vipre)
• My wife HATED it
• My DVD-RW was not found
• iMon (my front-panel LCD software) would not load
• This:

 Seemingly random, if I walked away from the computer for a few minutes, I had about a 1/3 chance of returning to this screen. It is solid black with a clock flashing 12:00. I could not get rid of it, no matter what I tried. I always had to do a hard reboot to get rid of it.

In Conclusion
Windows 8 looks like a cross between Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7. I think it will be an interesting OS, and be great for mobile devices (tablets, netbooks, phones, etc.) but I am still unconvinced that it is going to be a great computer OS. Windows Explorer (the bread-and-butter of the file system) seems to be an afterthought. While many believe that the future of computers is cloud-based software, there are still those of us that use our computers as computers... not as internet appliances.

Tip: Get a second opinion.

I am going to let everyone in on a trade secret. This may get me hate mail or even death threats from the "computer geek" crowd, but I am sick of people getting screwed because of incompetence.... so here it is:

If a "computer geek" can not figure out a problem, they will try to save face by talking over your head and telling you it is not fixable. They will never tell you they don't know; no matter what their skill level is the answer will be if I can't fix it, its not fixable.

I met a customer this week who has a "computer geek" friend he lets work on all his stuff. He called me with a laptop that his friend had messed up while trying to install Windows 7. After I fixed it, and explained to him (nicely) that his friend didn't know what the hell he was doing, he started telling me about all of the other "un-fixable" computers he had.

The guy starts bringing out computers from a back room that he has been told by the "computer geek friend" could not be fixed. About that time, his friend showed up and there was one computer that he assured me was "fried". He explained to me that it overheated and either the MB or CPU was junk.

The customer was upset about it because it was his favorite computer so I told him I would take a look at it and if there was nothing I could do, I wouldn't charge him. The friend scoffed and started talking to me about all the stuff he knew, apparently trying to test my knowledge.

People who know me know I am a bit cocky when it comes to my abilities of computer work, but I do not brag to people, I just let my work do the talking. That changes in the presence of self-proclaimed gurus. I love to call them out on their bullshit.

Among other things, he starts telling me about this brand-new OS coming out called Ubuntu and asks if I have ever seen it. (Ubuntu has been out a bit over 6 years now) He starts telling me about how great it is and how its going to kill Windows... and how Bill Gates is a greedy bastard (For those that don't know, Bill Gates is no longer CEO of Microsoft and spends the majority of his time with his wife giving his mass fortune away to charities via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

He continues to tell me about how dangerous water-cooling systems are, how a router can make a single computer internet connection faster, and how most motherboards can use either an AMD or Intel CPU (all of which is bullshit by the way) and once I was finished schooling him on all that I took the customer's poor un-fixable computer with me.

Long story, but here's the punchline: The un-fixable computer had a loose wire from the power supply and is now up and running fine. It's a miracle I tell ya.

Staying clean while doing dirty - Part One: FrostWire

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How To: Post a Comment on this Blog

If you are looking to comment on one of my posts but are having a hard time figuring it out (don't worry, you aren't alone) here is a step-by-step guide:

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Although it may not appear to be, the "1 comments" section (circled) is a link and if you click it, it will bring up the comments section:

After filling in your comment, you will see a drop-down box that says "Select Profile" click it and choose any of the login types you prefer. If you do not want to log in, choose Name/URL or Anonymous and you will be able to post either with your name and URL (optional) or completely anonymous.

Which will then take you to a normal preview / captcha window to finish the post:

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your comments!

You can never find a virus when you want one.

For a long time now, I have been wanting to write a piece on avoiding and removing the "Fake Anti-virus Virus (AKA Antivirus 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. etc.). I figured since it is the most common virus I see when customers bring me computers, it must be easy to get.

Today I set out to get the damn thing on purpose. I first disabled active protection on both my anti virus ( I use Vipre), and Malwarebytes anti-malware (Which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone without sufficient malware protection). Then I thought of a list of places that are likely to have viruses:

• Porn sites
• Warez / Serialz sites
• Shock sites
• Free Games sites
• Free cursors / browser add-ons / IM smileys / screensavers
• Free computer Tune Up programs (registry cleaners, speed up my PC crap, etc.)

I surfed and clicked randomly on all of the above sites for about an hour (some more than others *cough*) and tried like crazy to get a virus. I installed a few programs: UniBlue Registry Booster, PCKeeper, some keygen downloader for AVG serials, and some virtual pet browser addon called Guffins all while making sure NOT to un-check the added garbage options.

I was sure by this point I had a virus. Knowing that the Fake Antivirus viruses only launch on reboot, I rebooted my computer to see what I had. The first thing I noticed is that there were several more icons on my desktop, even more than the trash I installed:

But nothing at all that could be considered a virus. I opened Internet Explorer, and became optomistic when I saw Malwarebytes (which had re-enabled itself on reboot) post this:

 After clicking quarantine about 6 times to get rid of all the warnings, I was a bit disappointed to find that it was only Ad-ware, not the virus I was seeking.

The programs installed were annoying. They kept warning me about potential problems with popups that wanted me to buy the "full version" of their software, but if they were removable with Windows add-and-remove programs feature, they weren't viruses.

As I began to uninstall them I noticed there were a few more programs on the list I had not installed:

• WeatherBug
• more Free Games
• Play MY Games
• File Hunter

 Again, annoying, but not viruses. But my question is: If I can not get this virus in an hour of TRYING TO, how the heck are my customers getting it so often?


I guess I will have to wait on posting about the Fake Anti-virus Virus until I get another customer with it. That is unless someone can clue me in on where to get it.

Internet Explorer 9 is trying to break me and Microsoft up

I am what you would call a fan of Microsoft. Until recently, I have been in love with almost all of their software (Microsoft Security Essentials ended up being too needy so I dumped it). When I first heard about Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) I was giddy! I have been using IE for what seems like forever.

I would cheat on IE occasionally... I used Firefox and Chrome for some Facebook games but IE was always my go-to (default) browser. I have always been into beta testing software (trying the software before it is officially released to the public) and IE9 was no different. The day it was released in beta I did not hesitate to download and install it.

At first, everything seemed great! A nice, fast browser that seemed to flow perfectly with the rest of my computer. Over the course of several days, I started to notice that a lot of sites with form data were not working correctly. I thought little of it until I was on a government site filling out my FASFA information. I received a warning that my version of IE was not supported, but I ignored it thinking  Bah! Microsoft wouldn't release anything that wasn't backward compatible out of the box, it will work fine!  Well, when I went to submit my information, the browser locked up and I was unable to submit my information.

Oh, silly me, I should use compatibility mode, its just a temporary bug, they will work it out soon. It's new! Give em a break!

Compatibility mode didn't work either. Then I remembered all of the other sites I had been to where the form data didn't work. I did some testing and, sure enough, other browsers worked fine on those sites; IE9 did not. To hell with this, I uninstalled IE 9 and rolled back to 8 and I had my lovely relationship back... for a while

A few months later, IE9 was released as an optional download for Windows. Surely all the bugs had been worked out by now, right? I downloaded it again and this time, when I opened it for the first time, it took a LONG time to open... like 30 seconds or more on a fresh install (I have a30Mbps cable connection). I was a bit upset, but still kept playing with it... the initial lag in opening was soon forgotten and I continued to surf with my new best friend. For a few days, things went smooth... I was annoyed that the initial start up of the program took a while, but I remedied that by leaving it open whenever I could.

And then the crashes came. For no damn reason IE9 would crash and have to recover. I could just be reading a page and it would crash and recover... not too often, but the fact that it was happening at all was pissing me off. I uninstalled IE9 and once again rolled back to 8. I was very disappointed, but I was confident it would be fixed soon.

Eventually, IE9 became a "recommended" update and my computer, like an unattended child, installed the unwanted software. Now, I thought, it has to be fixed! Nope. Same long delay in opening, same form problems, same random crashes. My heart is broken.

I am currently writing this from Firefox. I still have IE9, but I loathe using it for anything. It is simply clunky and unreliable. The only thing I use it for now is streaming media (Netflix, Hulu, etc.). Firefox and Chrome are now the bread-and-butter of my Internet experience.

I still love Microsoft, but I hate it when I have to tell a customer Yea, I have that same problem with IE9. Your choices are to deal with it, or we get you another browser... And I, am just a little bit dead inside. I am actually ashamed FOR Microsoft about IE9.

About this blog.

Greetings folks,

I am a 36 year old computer repair and support business owner from Warsaw, Indiana. I have over 13 years experience of hands-on computer experience ranging from basic coding to designing and installing complete custom systems. I am currently back in school working on the 4th year of my bachelor's degree in Information Technology Support. My intentions with this blog are to help everyday users understand their computers and help them have a more pleasant experience on the Internet.

I know there are plenty of sites on the web offering help, but I plan to do things a bit different: I will take the time to understand the questions and instead of just provide an answer, I will attempt to explain the reasons behind them in realistic terms.

In addition, I will use this blog to write about computer-related experiences and rants that may help other readers as well... or just help me not climb a clock tower... whichever.