As stated on the preceeding page, I just got through a teaching/learning experience by giving a course on computer basics to a group of students here on Manitoulin through Cambrian College.
I have to admit that it was my first time at the front of a classroom other than years and years ago when Christian Brothers called me up to the front of the class for a demonstration of corporal punishment. It was rather refreshing not having to bend over and have a goaltenders hockey stick applied to my bottomside.
So, .......to continue on...
New Version Now Available:
Probably the most time-proven favourite of security applications has been upgraded. I'm talking about Spybot Search & Destroy from Safer-Networking Limited. It can be downloaded
here. Please be sure you uninstall the current version on your 'puter first.
Spybot has a component called TeaTimer that ensures you don't get into trouble.
And while on the topic of 'things bad for your computer', there is a security page
here that it wouldn't hurt for you to browse through.
Disclaimer: No animals were mistreated during the coding of this page.
And More Updates Available:
Just days after the Spybot update more updates have become available for apps you probably have installed.
Firefox 2.0.0.12 is a stability and security update to Firefox 2.0.0.x - you can update your current version right from the browser. Click on Help in the toolbar and then Check For Updates. If you don't already have Firefox installed, it can be downloaded directly from
here.
Your next stop should be
Secunia Software Inspector where there are more updates available - just run the scan. Mine told me that an update was available for Skype, Macromedia Flash, Sun Java and a few others. Your mileage will vary according to what you have installed on your machine.
Do yourself a favour and schedule the Secunia scan about once a week to keep current. Secunia gives you two ways to go - you can run the online scan, as I do, or you can actually install their software.
An App You Shouldn't Be Without:
I was pleasantly surprised the other day while plodding through newsgroups to find mention of an application that checked the software loaded on your machine against what is available out there on the internet in the way of updates.
For those of you that are busy in their life more so than yours truly, this app can be a real time saver.
AppGet is a 705 kb download that you can install. As you'll want a quick way to get at this you can add it to your Start Button or put a shortcut on your desktop. Clicking on the .exe file will produce a window where all the apps on your system will be listed. Simply click on the Synchronize Button on the bottom-right and the program checks your app against the current versions available for download. In just a few moments a categorized list will load indicating which version you have and what is available.
Naturally, you will have to be selective as to what update you go after depending on the application and its status. If you are running a trial version, you'll want to back off. If you have an app considered to be the best version out there, again you'll want to resist downloading an unproven version. If you've ripped off a copy of your Uncle Charlie's $17,000 Adobe app, again you'll get yourself in a pickle going for an update. Charlie is likely to take you out of his will and the Pirate Police will be knocking at your door. And if they seize your 'puter and find those risque pics of Uncle Charlie's wife, you're really in trouble.
When you're finished with AppGet and close it, it will minimize to your systray so just right-click the icon and click on Exit.
When I discovered this little gem there were other applications available, some that did all the finding and downloading for you in the background. I chose this one as I feel that the human touch was important here - your machine shouldn't be deciding which apps it wants updated - it should be left to you.
Smoke Alarms Save Lives:
Some of you may know that I am a volunteer firefighter in my community. Please don't call me Sparky!
Last night I was writing some code for my latest client's
web page (and I'm gonna be in trouble posting this as the page is still under construction and supposed to be under wraps until all the wrinkles are ironed out). All of a sudden my radio squawked that there was a fire and as I grabbed all my gear the address suddenly clicked through my thick skull - it was at my client's house.
Long story short, the pipe from the fireplace where it went through the basement wall had made contact with some lumber and it was starting to go - fortunately the family was home and a fire was averted by dousing the charred wood with water.
Smoke alarms are mandatory on every level of your house and as the above proves - smoke alarms save lifes.
Free On-Line Scan:
The ESET Online Scanner is a user friendly, free and powerful tool which you can use to remove malware from any PC utilizing only your web browser without having to install anti-virus software. The ESET Online Scanner uses the same ThreatSenseŽ technology and signatures as ESET NOD32 Antivirus, and is always up-to-date.
The above is what is said about their on-line scan, available
here. You will be prompted to allow the installation of an active x. The scan will then download the up-to-date definitions, and you're away to the races. The scan ran just shy of an hour on my system, which is quite full, so your run time will vary. Certainly enough time to make a pot of coffee and do some housework, phone your mother, write some Christmas cards, or whatever else you have going on.
Screen Capture Of Scan In Progress
Visit ESET's
Threat Center for recommended reading about malware that is being distributed to attack your computer.
The Guy Said "Medium Starch":
The following has absolutely nothing to do with "fixing yer 'puter", but I thought it might brighten up your day if you have to deal with the public at work - we all know that dealing with the public can be very trying.
Think about that next time your wife tells you to pick up the drycleaning.
I would've had this company do a web page, but Marie wasn't too keen on it.
Go ahead and call me henpecked. You weren't the guy who had to sleep with her.
We could have wiped out the Nazis in eight weeks if only we had this guy in our IT department.
I asked him but he had the idea that I was connected to a porn site.
Tony Curtis was hot, but I would never had sung to the President if this guy was born twenty years earlier.
I bet I'd still be alive too!
Yes, it's true
I sleep very soundly and when I do I am prone to talking with dead people and sponges. Don't let that scare you away - you can depend on a well-designed website and it is guaranteed not to be spooky.
I'm just a cartoon character from
Day by Day but I know a whiner winner when I see one. Visit us on our web page.
And Please...
If it's past your bedtime and you can't sleep, please think of your good friends around the world who just may or may not be in bed.
Being Indispensable
Sometime, when you are feeling important,
Sometime, when your ego's in full bloom,
Sometime, when you take it for granted,
You're the only qualified one in the room...
Sometime, when you feel that your going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these few simple instructions
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up tio your wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that is remaining,
Is the measure of how you'll be missed!
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore ~
But stop and you'll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint observation,
Is to do the very best that you can,
Be proud of yourself, but remember,
There is only one indispensable man.
This above Is Dedicatated To The Memory Of Correctional Sergeant Hal Burchfield
12/16/47 - 6/8/85 Killed In The Line Of Duty
San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections
Dang,
Looks like I gotta find some content to fill this thing up more...
I would've had this company do a web page, but Marie wasn't too keen on it.
Go ahead and call me henpecked. You weren't the guy who had to sleep with her.
We could have wiped out the Nazis in eight weeks if only we had this guy in our IT department.
I asked him but he had the idea that I was connected to a porn site.
Tony Curtis was hot, but I would never had sung to the President if this guy was born twenty years earlier.
I bet I'd still be alive too!
