Page 7

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...

There Are Updates Available:

1. Firefox Browser
Version 2.0.0.11 is now available and can be downloaded and installed from your Help Button.
Help/Check for Updates

2. Secunia Software Inspector
http://secunia.com/software_inspector/

Coming Up Soon:

The nerds around the internet world are talking about the upcoming Service Pack to Windows XP. For those of you that shake their head and say, "what the hell is that?" - Microsoft will be making available a major update to Win XP.

And how will that affect me?
If you wish to make your operating system up to date and more secure, you will need to do certain things in preparation for this service pack. Probably the most important thing you can do in this respect is to prepare your system by getting any spyware off your machine. I will tackle this in the days to follow. Right now I'm heading out to the garage to fire up my snowblower - it's a world of snow out in my driveway and its gotta be cleaned up.
Merry &%@(?&% Christmas!

Getting Ready:

There are several facets to this procedure and it will be time consuming but worth your while as an incomplete service pack installation will cause you no end of trouble so we don't wanna go there:

Run a complete scan of your system with your anti-virus program.
Go blow your driveway while it runs.
Run an on-line virus scan using HouseCall or Panda ActiveScan following on-screen instructions.
You will have to sit there until the scan gets started as there is some preliminary things that have to take place. Once running, go bake a cake.
Now that you are sure you are virus-free it is time to check for trojans. Go to http://www.windowsecurity.com/trojanscan/ and run their on-line trojan scanner following on-screen instructions.
Again, don't walk away until you see the scan is actually running. Then you can check the cake in the oven and maybe get a batch of cookies started - POKO loves cookies.
Now it is time to download the following freeware anti-spyware apps if you do not already have them installed:

Download AdvancedWindowsCare and install it. Now run it and when it starts you click on the Start Button at the bottom opening a Scan Page - tick Spyware Scan and run it.
You can see that this app provides you with other useful scans.
Download and install Windows Defender. Now run this baby noticing that it puts an icon in your systray which will alert you to problems.
Another nasty that can be lingering on your 'puter is a rootkit. To see if your machine is infested you need to download and run AVGAntiRootkit.

I just want to interject here that steps 1, 3 and 4 thru 7 should be utilized in a weekly security project. While you may choose to only run certain of the above due to time constraints, it is highly recommended. The more you use your 'puter, the more likely you will encounter spyware so if you browse wildly you will come into contact with these nasties.

Your next step is to get your registry in good order. You can begin by downloading and running Erunt.
This app will backup your registry and it MUST be run prior to you doing anything with your registry. A screwed up registry means you will have a machine that will not boot! Set this baby up so your backup files are easily accessible to you in the event you need to modify your registry back to where it was before you made changes. I have mine located in My Documents/myregistrybackups.
Now that you have backed up your registry, run AdvancedWindowsCare from above doing a Registry Scan. This will allow you to eliminate unneeded entries in your registry.
Download and install Auslogics Registry Defrag. Running this allows you to defragment your registry and get it lean and mean.
Now that your 'puter has rebooted your next step is to get all your drivers in order. I suggest that you go to http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Dark-Side-Windows-XP-SP2.html and read Brien Posey's excellent tutorial on driver updating.
Now it is time to clean up your file system and you could use AdvancedWindowsCare from above, but I prefer using DiskCleaner which clears your cache (temporary internet files) and a whole lot more.
After you run this baby check out of the amount of space on your harddrive you regain - AMAZING!
Now that all the extraneous files have been eliminated from your harddrive, it is time to defrag your system and I personally prefer DiskDefrag by Auslogics.
The default defrag installed by Microsoft on your machine is slow and cumbersome and prone to act up. I have always used third-party apps for defragging and most computer professionals agree.

We're Done !

Your 'puter is now lean and mean and ready for the service pack install when it becomes available.

ADDON

I ran this spyware list by a number of advanced computer users and the consensus was that the number of apps was overkill. They suggested Adaware, Spybot and two or so more.

Your call !

A Little About Spyware:

The previous post dealt with the removal of spyware from your computer. The link supplied for the tutorial on drivers was written by the same fellow that wrote this one entitled "How Spyware And The Weapons Against It Are Evolving".
The author tells us how some spyware is spread, that being download sites that bundle it on purpose and hiding the fact by putting in a disclaimer deep inside the eula.
To me, that is unacceptable and such sites should be called on their actions. I think that something needs to be done about this and if you know of someone or some group that can do something, I suggest you recommend to them that they target these sites.

Ninety-five percent of the computers in the world are infected !

That's just lame and something has got to be done about it.

For The Dog Lovers:

One thing I disagree with is the overuse of jokes that are passed around by e-mail. I don't mind the odd one, but some folks just go overboard. But....I had to share this one I just got:

The next time someone asks you a dumb question wouldn't you like to respond like this?.....

Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for Athena the wonder dog at Wal-Mart

and was about to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had, an elephant? So since I'm retired, with little to do, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again.

Although I probably shouldn't, because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified , she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no; I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's ass and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard!

WAL-MART won't let me shop there anymore.

FaceBook:

If you've got kids, you've probably got FaceBook. It's a social website thingie that is popular with the kiddies and even some adults.
A buddy of mine sent me a message and in order to get it I had to log on to FaceBook. I read the message and closed it and forgot about it. Soon afterwards I started getting messages from other people I knew that were subscribers and what was an occasional annoyance became a real pain.
You have to log on to read the messages sent.
About a week ago I unsubscribed and just tonight I read a very interesting article about the fine folks at FaceBook. I suggest that you drop this service from your computer.

This is getting too long, eh.

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" in my dreams "

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...

'You know Bert, that POKO sure is opinionated !'