Free Computer Consultant ………. Daily Insights

Yahoo! must be trying to make itself ugly to Microsoft to avoid the suitor’s grasp. Why else would 1/3 of the stories on their front page be videos, when all anyone really wants to do is quickly scan a story?

If the story is interesting enough, like a panda sneezing, offer a video as an option.

But here’s something really off the wall for Yahoo! to consider with their videos.. Have them actually PLAY!

Most of the time I feel irresponsible enough with my time to even click on a Yahoo! video all I ever get is a blue box with a spinning circle - seldom does it actually play the video.

Yahoo!, wake up. In America on the internet you get about 3 seconds to grab the surfer’s attention; after that - they’re GONE!

Bonus Tip: If you want to watch videos, go to YouTube, they have it figured out.

Free software is free, but they usually want you to buy their paid version. If the free version makes you mad, how likely are you to buy the full version?

I have long used FoxIt Reader for PDF’s to replace the agonizingly slow Adobe Acrobat Reader. But I really get ticked off when I want to open a PDF and have to wait for it to check for updates. If you cancel the check, the program locks up; restart it and it checks again. Gotta wait for it.

Can you turn off the auto update feature? Heck no, only in good software programs can you do that. This latest version, 2.3, even has the annoyance of showing the bookmarks side panel at startup. You can turn it off, but exit FoxIt and come back in and there it is again. I almost never use bookmarks.

You could say I’m cheap, but what if I told you I own the full version of Adobe Acrobat Standard? I just can’t stand waiting for it to load 6 zillion plugins before it opens up a simple PDF.

Anyone from FoxIt reading?

For all of you out there using Windows Vista (I know, small audience), I thought I would pass along three tricks that I read in a blog over at InfoWorld.

The tricks are these:

1. Navigating Shortcuts
2. Multiple local GPOs (yeah, I know, what’s a GPO you ask)
3. CompletePC backup creates .vhd file that is mountable - I prefer Acronis True Image

If you use Windows Vista, it’s probably worth your time for the quick read about Windows Tricks from the Vista Masters over at InfoWorld.

Last week a friend of mine called to say that their ISP had changed their IP address and now, even though they could now get on the internet, they could not access their network printers.

Here is what I think happened (because no one really knows for sure):

• LinkSys router had non-standard IP scheme and static PUBLIC (WAN) IP address programmed in
• The ISP changed something that required a change in the WAN setting
• When the user called in to tech support, she knew nothing about routers, just needed help getting online
• ISP Tech Support directed her to RESET the LinkSys router to FACTORY DEFAULTS, knowing that this would set the WAN port to DHCP (or automatic addressing) which the technician knew would connect the LinkSys router to their network
• What the technician didn’t know or CARE was that she was WIPING OUT other important network settings

I was able to determine (since nothing was labeled) by looking at the PORT under PROPERTIES in the workstation printer configuration what the STATIC IP address of each printer was.

I changed the workstation from DHCP network addressing to a STATIC address that was on the same subnet as the printer - in this case: 192.168.254.0/255.255.255.0.

I was then able to access each printer by putting the IP address of the printer into the address bar of a web browser and configuring the network settings to use the new subnet of 192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0.

I put a label on each device with a static IP address, indicating the address.

Since there is no server at this office, the printers were configured on each workstation so I had to go to each one and change the PORT address for each of the networked printers.

Get a label maker and use it. It will save you (or someone else) some time and trouble down the road. And ALWAYS be wary of what a tech support technician tells you!

I pretty much gave up on Comodo’s antimalware product BOClean recently. Between false positives and a database that was continually becoming corrupt with errant instructions on how to fix(and a popup that wouldn’t go away), my clients were tired of it.

But BOClean has saved my bacon more than once. So when I checked today and found out the v4.26 has been released, I figured I would download and install it again.

I’ll let you know if there are any problems “pop up”.

A friend of mine made me aware of a new online backup service call DropBox, his review is here.

A key difference with DropBox, currently in Beta, is that you can sign up multiple computers to the same account - then the computers will all sync to the data in the drop box.

You can undelete files or restore old versions, even invite friends or family (if you have any of either!) to a shared folder with rights you assign.

There is already a client for both Windows and Mac and soon Linux.

I normally aren’t too crazy about online backup solutions, but this one has promise. I’ll blog in the future about ways to overcome my one biggest objection - security.

’til then..

Virus Bulletin is a paid service that, among other things, tests antivirus products and rates them according to how well they catch virus, trojan and other malware threats.

They recently released the results of tests run on Windows Vista PCs and included threats known to be circulating in early 2008.

Of those tested, five products scored a perfect 100%.

Want to know what they are?

• Avira Antivir Personal (free for noncommercial use) - I mentioned this one recently in an update to my subscribers. It has gotten a lot of attention lately.
• ESET NOD32 - Been around for a long time; not known for ease of use, but good reputation.
• Fortinet FortiClient - This surprised me; I use FortiClient for secure IPSec VPN’s to client firewalls (Fortinet Fortigate Firewalls) but have never used the antivirus feature.
• Frisk FPROT - Another name that has been around a while.
• Symantec Norton Antivirus - It pains me to see them in this category. In times past they have missed infections that free online scanners have caught. Known for being a resource hog and slowing your computer down.

These five scored a perfect 100, but most names you know scored a 98 or 99.

Keep in mind however, that this is one set of tests. If those same tests were run today (whatever day you read this) you may find a different group in the 100% category. Also, as I noted above, no antivirus program is known for having more problems slowing down your computer or giving you difficulty installing or uninstalling than Symantec Norton Antivirus. I personally wouldn’t use it if it were free and always rated a 100.

The important points are these:

• Do select a quality antivirus program and make sure it is always up to date.
• Do employ a quality firewall, hardware (like the Fortinet Fortigate) if possible, software otherwise. This may or may not come with the antivirus software.
• Do use common sense when using email and surfing the web. I have written about this on my website - look under Computer Security.
• Do NOT engage in illegal file sharing.
• Do NOT act recklessly on social networking sites (myspace, facebook, etc). A news article just came out indicating that’s where hackers are spending most of their focus.

One product that scores very well overall, though not perfect in this test, comes with both antivirus, software firewall, antispam and other features is ZoneAlarm Security Suite from Zone Labs. This product I have found to be much easier to understand than many of its competitors.

The best product in the world can be useless if you don’t understand how to operate it. And these days, any comprehensive antivirus and firewall product will take some level of understanding by the user to make sure it is working properly protecting you.

Like many computer security suites today, you can pay one fee and cover multiple computers. Save $20 when you Download ZoneAlarm Security Suite today
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Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available and will even show up with automatic updates. While there really isn’t anything earth shattering about SP3 for XP, it certainly streamlines the process of installing Windows XP from scratch, such as when needing to reinstall Windows.

For the most part, SP3 is just a convenient rollup of all prior patches since and including Windows XP Service Pack 2. If nothing else, it allows a person to keep their PC a bit cleaner since each individual update will many times leave behind and uninstall directory - compressed, but still unneeded.

I have seen some users warn that after installing XP SP3 their computer wouldn’t even boot, even couldn’t get into the BIOS screen. That may be true, but a coincidence. I know of no way for the installation of a Windows Service Pack to prevent the PC from presenting you the option of entering the BIOS screen. If that isn’t happening, you have a hardware issue.

Certainly, if it works don’t fix it. I see Windows XP Service Pack 3 as a faster way of setting up new PC’s, not a way of fixing old ones.

If XP is sluggish and you decide on a reinstall (after a complete backup, better yet - 2), SP3 will make your life easier and the process quicker.

But if it works, don’t fix it.

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