June 15, 2016

CryptoLocker (Again)

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

A special type of computer malware is succeeding where other viruses only dream to tread: The CryptoLocker virus is on the move, infecting computers, encrypting data, and requiring individuals and organizations to pony up money to get their data back. It’s insane that people are falling for this ruse.
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February 19, 2016

Windows Backup Woes

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

I highly recommend that you perform some type of backup. Windows Backup is almost a good program. Its major weakness remains that once your external backup drive gets full, Windows Backup is utterly helpless. That sucks.
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January 4, 2016

New Year PC Chores

Filed under: Main — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:01 am

It’s a new year! Things are slowly getting back to normal, with the chaos of the extended Saturnalia finally concluding. I mean, nothing gets done the last two weeks of the year, right? So why not take advantage of the lull and do some computer cleaning?
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November 6, 2015

Windows is Waiting . . .

Filed under: Main — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:01 am

You need to shutdown or restart your PC, but there it is! That same old message. Windows is waiting to shutdown a program. What’s up?
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July 15, 2015

Ode to the Gamepad

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

My son wanted to use the Xbox 360 controller on his PC. That makes sense. In fact, quite a few popular games offer that type of device input over using the traditional keyboard and mouse.

You can’t plug an Xbox controller into a PC. It doesn’t work. But Xbox-style controllers are available. They come with a USB connector. Plug it in and go, right? Not so fast.
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July 10, 2015

The Cat Ate My Hard Drive

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

Would it be possible for a cat to march across your desk, lie on the keyboard, and somehow manage to completely erase everything on your computer? Let me mull the possibilities.
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March 20, 2015

Website Timeout Troubles

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

I missed a bill payment. It’s my fault: I tried to log into the utility’s website, but it was unreachable. I figured it was a hiccup and I’d check back later. The problem: The website hasn’t been available for weeks. Is it me?
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March 11, 2015

The Saga of Pre-Installed Software

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

Some call it crapware. I prefer bloatware. Whatever you call it, the name applies to software pre-installed on a computer. Sometimes the software consists of useful tools, such as anti-virus, the Acrobat Reader, or even a productivity suite. Recently the trend has been for actual malware to be pre-installed, which I find a bit unsettling.
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March 4, 2015

Ooops.

Filed under: Main — Tags: , — admin @ 12:01 am

The file I wanted was in a weird format. TZ. I searched the web and found a compressed file extraction utility that would deal with it. Being in a rush, I failed to read the dialog box before I clicked the Install button. Hello, unwanted crap!
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January 9, 2015

Fix the Secure Desktop UAC

Filed under: Main — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:01 am

The UAC, or User Account Control, has been with PC users since Windows Vista. It was one of the reasons people hated Vista.
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