Dave "Bytes"

Please remember to use your thinker, before you tinker!

December 28, 2006

A Periodic Newsletter for the Members of the Sarasota PC User Group and the World!!

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Here's A Windows Tip

This is for anyone with small children that like to come along and push the power button on the computer, usually right when you're in the middle of something.

Go to Control Panel-Power Options and click on the Advanced tab. In the drop box called "When I press the power button on my computer" set to either "Do nothing" or "Ask me what to do". The first is self-explanatory, and the second brings up the option window when you click "Turn off computer" on the Start menu.

Now you won't have those little fingers coming along while you are in the middle of something and turning the computer off on you while you're in the middle of something and causing you to lose what you're working on.

Haven't come across something similar for the Reset button (if present) other than to disconnect it from the motherboard. Then again if your computer has frozen to the point that you need to reset, flipping the switch on the power supply will accomplish the same thing.

Vista "Crack" Infected

Security researchers Sunbelt Software have confirmed that the Trojan is contained in a program called 'windows vista all versions activation 21.11.06.exe', which has been circulating on message boards, according to a report.

The program claims to be a 'crack' designed to unlock pirated copies of Vista, which was made available to Microsoft's volume licensing customers last week.

In fact it installs malware known as Trojan-PSW.Win32.LdPinch.aze, which attempts to steal passwords and send them back to an attacker, according to security researchers Kaspersky, which first noticed the Trojan in early October.

Users who have come into contact with the supposed crack have reportedly found that Norton Antivirus and Eset's NOD32 failed to detect the Trojan, though other antivirus programs did stop infections from occurring.

Microsoft has said it expects Vista to see the fastest adoption of any OS it has ever launched. Most analysts have taken a more cautious line, with many businesses saying they'll wait for up to two years before planning an upgrade.

AOL to Pay Back $600,000 to Many Subscribers For Wrong Charges

If America Online has ever charged you for Internet service you didn't want, you're not alone.
At least 10,400 AOL customers nationally, including 6,000 in Florida, are eligible for refunds and credits under a settlement announced Tuesday between the
Florida Attorney General's Office and AOL.
After receiving more than 1,000 complaints from consumers, the Attorney General's Office began an investigation in September 2005. It confirmed that
AOL in many cases ignored customers' cancellation requests, reactivated canceled accounts without authorization, charged for additional accounts when
it shouldn't have, and mistakenly put charges on some customers' phone bills.
Past and present AOL customers who think they have been subjected to those practices can get a complaint form at www.myfloridalegal.com. The form then must be mailed to AOL, which is expected to resolve the complaints within 45 days. AOL admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
According to information from the Attorney General's Office, AOL likely will pay a total of $550,000 to $600,000, roughly half of that to Floridians.
That will include $127.20 to Cathy Sauer of Orlando.
In 2004, Sauer tried to sign up for an AOL account she could use while traveling but received an erroneous charge. AOL eventually dropped it after she complained. But 18 months later, the charge reappeared and she was contacted by a collection agency.
Along the way, she said, she endured customer service agents who laughed at her. She then contacted the Attorney General's Office, which added her to its investigation.
The attorney general's investigation noted that AOL historically has made it difficult for subscribers to cancel service. Customer service agents were trained
to "save" the accounts of subscribers who want to cancel, and received bonuses based on how many they save.
In August 2005, AOL agreed to end the bonus program and to pay New York state $1.25 million in penalties.
Only a week ago, retiree Peter Steiner of Boynton Beach tried to cancel his AOL service. "They told me, `You can't cancel it,'" he said. Steiner said he has explained the situation to his credit-card company and instructed it to dispute the AOL charge.
AOL began a transition this year from a paid Internet service to a free Web portal. It still charges for Internet access, but now allows free access to its
content.
"Our strategic shift to free fundamentally changed how we interact with consumers, as our goal now is to make it easy for people to continue using our
services even if they don't pay us," AOL spokesman Andrew Weinstein said. "We've agreed as part of this settlement to codify the changes and safeguards that
we've made over the last year."
"AOL is trying to balance the need to satisfy customers with the fact that it has a struggling business model in transition," said Bill Whyman, Washington-based head of technology research at International Strategy & Investment Group.
In July, 36 million search queries made by AOL subscribers were made public. AOL had replaced the subscribers' names with numbers, but many of the queries included information that could be used to identify the user. The company apologized and fired its chief technology officer and two other employees in the division responsible for the data release.

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Recycle Bin? "My" this, that, and the other? Give those dull-sounding icons new identities with Desktop Renamer. This small and simple freebie lets you rename the four Windows desktop icons. It interface consists of one small window. Just type in the names you want and hit "OK." The names will change in Windows right away, but you may need to restart the system to see the icons change on the desktop. The resulting personalized desktop feels more like something of your very own

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Got something "computer related" to sell? Looking for that rare peripheral? If it's computer related you can submit a short classified ad for exposure in Dave "Bytes". Be sure to include your name and e-mail address in the ad. You can also include a picture of the item. Now some would suggest that there be a charge for this feature but alas, since my bookkeeping skills leave much to be desired I've determined that this will be a free service to all SPCUG members in good standing. "Bytes" is currently sent to almost 1500 homes in the area. Ad requests will be included as soon as possible. I assume absolutely no responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness of supplied info. All transactions are between consulting adults which leaves me entirely off the hook.

Please let me know by clicking HERE when your merchandise is sold so that I can remove it from the listing.

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New Series

Top 10 Dumb Things Users Do That Can Mess Up Their Computers

We all do dumb things now and then, and computer users are no exception. Inadvertently pressing the wrong key combination or innocently clicking OK in the wrong dialog box can change important settings that alter a computer’s behavior or even crash the system.
Nervous newbies are often fearful that one wrong move might break the computer forever. Luckily, short of taking a sledge hammer to the box, the consequences aren’t usually quite that dire. Even so, users often do create problems for their computers and for your network. In this series we'll examine a description of common missteps (in no particular order) you can use to help steer clear of preventable problems.

Install and uninstall lots of programs, especially betas
You like to be on the cutting edge, so you often install and try out new software. Beta programs are usually free and give you a chance to sample neat new features before most people. There are also manyfreeware and shareware programs made available as Internet downloads by their authors. We know you’d never do it, but some users even install pirated software or “warez.”
The more programs you install, the more likely you are to run across ones that either include malicious code or that are poorly written and cause your system to behave improperly or crash. The risk is greater with pirated programs.
Even if you install only licensed, final-release commercial software, too many installations and uninstallations can gunk up the registry.
Not all uninstall routines completely remove program remnants and at the least, this practice can cause your system to slow down over time.
You should install only the programs that you really need, stick with legitimate software, and try to minimize the number you install and uninstall.

From The "Bytes" Mailbox

Every so often, I receive duplicate copies of certain e-mails.

Surprisingly, this is a common problem and it has happened to all of us at one time or another. It's happened to me several times and I know that whenever it happens to some of you, you e-mail me and tell me. Yes, we all receive duplicate e-mails every once in awhile. It may be every once in a great while or it might be all the time. Either way, let's see what might be causing this.

First of all, if you are getting duplicate copies of any newsletters or other mailing list subscriptions that you are signed up for, you may be registered for it more than once. If so, contact the provider and ask them to check your account. If you are in their database twice, they can delete one entry and you'll go back to getting those e-mails only once.

Okay, that takes care of any mailing lists you may be a part of, but what about regular e-mails that come from your friends and family? Well, there just so happens to be a couple more suggestions for this problem. First off, the problem could lie within the network server of the e-mail sender. Chances are, the sender is having some technical difficulties with their server and it's causing trouble within the delivery path. There may be a connection problem or if one of the computers along the path is really slow, it could cause system problems as well.

When this happens, most e-mail delivery clients will send the message again if they're unsure if the first attempt went through or not. In most cases, the problems get worked out and the message usually sends correctly, but that second attempt is still made. The second attempt then makes another copy of the same e-mail and sends it out again. Therefore, you receive two copies of the same exact e-mail.

To explain it a little better, when an e-mail is sent out, it goes through several computers before it lands at its final destination (which would be your Inbox). Because of this, the network or server problem could lie within any of those computers. It's hard to tell which one will cause a problem beforehand, so when an e-mail delivery protocol is unsure of a successful delivery, they go ahead and send the same e-mail out again. They always want to make sure you get your e-mail, so they'll do whatever they deem necessary to get that job done. Yes, it may be annoying to get more than one of the same e-mail, but isn't that better than not getting it at all?

Another common cause of the multiple e-mail syndrome is a forwarding loop problem. We all like to send forwards to our friends, but sometimes we don't realize that we may be causing some trouble. (Well, nothing too serious, but trouble nonetheless!) When you forward an e-mail from your computer to another, you must have a set final destination in place for that e-mail. If you don't, the message will get bounced back to you. If you don't have a destination in mind, you create a forwarding loop that will end up sending out duplicate copies of the e-mail. To prevent this, just make sure you include the correct addresses you want the e-mail to go to and if they're right, you should have no loopy problems anymore!

Those are the major causes of the duplication problem. Of course, you could always send out multiple messages on accident, but we won't go into that one! Hopefully this helps clear up the problem as to why you're getting more than one copy of certain e-mails. It shouldn't be too big of a problem, but if it does happen to you again, you'll know why and possibly how to fix it from now on!

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Here's A Computer Maintenance Tip

There is no single answer clearing space on your hard drive. Most basic PCs ship with 40GB to 80GB hard drives, and high-end hard drives are readily available in the 200GB to 250GB range.
With such massive storage available, you'd need to install a tremendous volume of files and applications before running short of drive space. Still, if you're looking for a general guideline to follow, try to maintain at least 20% free space on a hard drive. This should ensure ample space to install another few applications or support other tasks (such as defragmenting the drive). To check your free space, in Windows XP, click Start and My Computer, right-click your hard drive, and select Properties. The General tab displays a pie chart showing used (blue) and free (red) space. When you feel that your drive space is running a bit short, simply run the Add/Remove Programs wizard to remove unneeded applications or off-load unneeded data to CD-RWs (CD-rewriteables) or DVD-RWs (DVD-rewriteables).

Pause For Thought

	One good thing about Holiday Shopping....... it toughens you for the January sales

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Last Updated
04/13/2007 06:15 AM