"Computers used to take up entire buildings, now they just take up our entire lives." - Unknown
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Abeling Technology Part 1 (11/06)
Abeling Technology Part 2 (12/06)
- Own Your Own Dot Com (11/07)
- Create Your Own Website (10/07)
- Being Wireless Part 1 (6/07)
- Being Wireless Part 2 (6/07)
- Making your Computer Last Longer (3/06)
- Darn Bleeping Computer (1/07)
- XP Microsoft Changes (10/06)
- How To Find That Lost Email Address
Here's more, read below:
Microsoft has announced that it will no longer support windows 98, ME and updating for its WINDOWS XP SP-1 after October 10th, 2006. Read Article
What that means is that it's time to update and upgrade, or you may experience some serious computing issues.
This is how you check to see what version of windows you have:
Click on the "START' tab > double-right-click on the "CONTROL PANEL" icon when the control panel opens. If there's lots of icons, you are in the correct screen viewing setting - if you have only have six or so categories, change the setting on the left panel to "CLASSIC VIEW.
Now look for the "SYSTEM" icon, then double-right-click on the SYSTEM icon and wait a few seconds. A new window will open with a monitor and the Microsoft flag - next to the monitor should be a list, describing the operating system status: If it says WINDOWS XP SP-1 ver. 2001 or 2002 you need updating. If it says WINDOWS XP SP-2, your okay for a while . . .
BeyondTech's web site is undergoing an overhaul soon it will be more utilitarian and easier to navigate with lots of helpful tips and downloads to make your computer life easier. There will also be ideas and comments for clients to share.
A client recently sent me a tip regarding a new internet explorer toolbar that enables you to determine if a web site you are visiting is a fake (aka phishing site) or real one.
PHISHING (fish´ing) (n.) The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.
The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user's information. For example, 2003 saw the proliferation of a phishing scam in which users received e-mails supposedly from eBay claiming that the user's account was about to be suspended unless he clicked on the provided link and updated the credit card information that the genuine eBay already had.
Because it is relatively simple to make a Web site look like a legitimate organizations site by mimicking the HTML code, the scam counted on people being tricked into thinking they were actually being contacted by eBay and were subsequently going to eBay's site to update their account information.
By spamming large groups of people, the "phisher" counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with eBay legitimately.
Phishing, also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on "fishing," the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.
Also see the All About Phishing page in the "Did You Know?" section of Webopedia.com for more information, including examples, of phishing.
Whether you use a MAC or a PC, there are many ways you can unintentionally lose information on a computer: a child playing the keyboard like a piano, a power surge, lightning and floods - most of the time, the computer just gives up & fails.
If you regularly make backup copies of your files and keep them in a separate place, when your hard drive crashes (and it will some day) you can get some, if not all, of your important information back onto a new drive.
Before you get started, make a checklist of files to back up. Most are in a folder called MY DOCUMENTS.
- Bank records and other financial information
- Digital photographs
- Music you purchased and downloaded from the Internet
- Personal projects
- Your e-mail address book
- Your IPod & Palm Pilot stuff
- Your internet browser bookmarks
The only safe and sane way to store your backup copies is on an external hard disk drive, a portable thumb-drive, a CD, DVD, or an online backup service.
It's recommended to use a combination of all the above. Regardless of what version of Windows or MAC you use, you can easily make a manual backup copy of any file or folder by following these steps:
1. Right-click the file or folder that you want to back up, and then click Copy from the menu.
2. Now, in My Computer, (MAC=DRIVE) you can right-click the disk or external hard drive where you want to store the backup copy, and then click Paste from the menu. That's it. Quite simple.
Unfortunately, I've seen critical systems often fail, so I'm not a great fan of having computer programs performing important functions like automatic backups. ALWAYS check your antivirus and other protection programs to see if they are updating and running system checks frequently.
NEVER trust an auto-backup to protect your PC. Especially don't trust a native Microsoft product (native means something that comes with the machine).
There are several backup products you can buy that you can program to perform auto-backups - one of the best is "ROXIO BACKUP MY PC" (cost about $75-$100). It backs up your docs and the folders in their original form, uncompressed, that is. It is relatively easy to use, nonetheless, just to be safe, it's best to perform backups manually.
Microsoft offers other options, if you're cavalier and adventurous . . .
MAC:
On a final note, to extend the life of your hard drive, do not use the "Hibernation" or "Sleep Mode". Turn your computer off when you're not using it.
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