Tech-101 Free Computer Support http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/ Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:22:35 +0000 43200 Articles describing how to use the new Articles module of IP.Content If you need help with a computer problem http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/if-you-need-help-with-a-computer-problem-r36 HERE.

Find the appropriate section then click "Start New Topic" button to start your post within that section.]]> Wed, 11 May 2011 13:52:49 +0000 42a0e188f5033bc65bf8d78622277c4e Independent A/V Evaluation Group http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/independent-av-evaluation-group-r35
During the 1st quarter of 2011 we have tested 22 security products in the areas protection, repair and usability. The "Protection" covers static and dynamic malware detection, including real-world 0-Day attack testing. In case of "Repair", we check the system disinfection and rootkit removal in detail. The "Usability" testing includes the system slow-down caused by the tools and the number of false positives. A product has to reach at least 11 out of 18 possible points in order to receive a certification. 17 products have fulfilled our requirements and received an AV-Test certificate. The test reports can be found here:]av-text.org
The TABBED data covers 2010/Q2 Win-7, 2010/Q3 Win/XP, 2010/Q4 Vista, 2011/Q1 Win7, 2011/Q2 Win-XP]]> Thu, 05 May 2011 15:44:36 +0000 7f1de29e6da19d22b51c68001e7e0e54 not obsolescence, but subsuming nature of iPhones http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/not-obsolescence-but-subsuming-nature-of-iphones-r31
  • Handheld GPS devices:- GPS apps for the iPhone now equal or outperform

  • Portable game players:- App Store games are cheaper, more plentiful, and easier to obtain

  • MP3 players:- iPod & iPhone out perform

  • Portable DVD players:- no more carting the media around with you

  • eBook readers:- advantages go to the eBook except when you own both

  • Digital cameras:- not for serious photographers, but for casual use

  • Portable recorders:- you can say goodbye to separate portable recording hardware. The iPhone is all you need.

  • Wrist watches:- not as flashy as a Rolex, but not as expensive either

  • Travel alarms:- by now, just an antique

  • Portable calculators:- remember that HP11c? when's the last time you used it?

  • and perhaps even, your wallet

Like to take this as my own keen observations, but the real article by Ted Landau, April 14, 2011 at MacObserver.com is where I got the insperation.]]> Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:51:02 +0000 1afa34a7f984eeabdbb0a7d494132ee5 The Hartford Insurance Company was Hacked http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/the-hartford-insurance-company-was-hacked-r28
In a warning letter sent last month to about 300 employees, contractors, and a handful of customers, the company said it discovered the infection in late February. Several servers were hit, including Citrix servers used by employees for remote access to IT systems. A copy of The Hartford’s letter was posted earlier this week to the website of the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General.

Qakbot has been around for about two years. Once installed it spreads from computer to computer in the network, taking steps to cover its tracks as it logs sensitive data and opens up back doors for the hackers to access the network.

With 28,000 employees worldwide, the 200-year-old Hartford, Connecticut, firm is one of the country’s largest insurance companies.

The Hartford’s letters are going out to “users who logged onto an infected server (either through a Citrix session or support purposes)” between Feb. 22 and Feb. 28, 2011, The Hartford said in its letter.

“We do know that the virus has the potential to capture confidential data such as bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, user accounts/logins, passwords, and credit card numbers,” the letter states.]]> Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:18:01 +0000 76dc611d6ebaafc66cc0879c71b5db5c SHOCK! Microsoft stops developing Windows,... http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/shock-microsoft-stops-developing-windows-r27 Microsoft has ceased development of the Windows operating system and will be releasing its own Linux distribution, the company revealed in an SEC filing yesterday.
[indent].[/indent]
The annual 10-K report (that's a corporation public document required by the SEC), disclosed plans for the development of the "Winux" operating system and detailed special costs related to terminating the Windows business -- including costs associated with supporting current versions of Windows through 2020.
[indent].[/indent]
The move signals that Windows -- once the world's most popular operating systems -- is no longer strategically important to Microsoft. Company officials acknowledged that switching to Linux will result in significant cost savings without compromising performance, scalability, reliability, or security. Further, compatibility with most Windows applications will be maintained, the officials said.[/indent]
[indent].[/indent]
I don't write this stuff and it IS April First, but the above is an article By Doug Dineley on Inforworld.com - - see for yourself]]> Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:40:17 +0000 ec5decca5ed3d6b8079e2e7e7bacc9f2 Samsung confirms their laptops don http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/samsung-confirms-their-laptops-don-r26 claimed to have found evidence that Samsung was pre-installing a special keylogging program called StarLogger on brand new laptops. A well known tool in the hacker world, keyloggers do exactly what their name implies -- they log every keystroke a user makes, including passwords. More sophisticated versions can even email that information daily or hourly.

After the claims, Samsung's tech support had some confusion about the issue, which raised concerns through the computer industry overnight.

Today is a different story. Samsung has completely debunked those claims with evidence in their blog which can be found http://www.samsungtomorrow.com/1071

Samsung has issued a statement saying that the finding is false. The statement says the software used to detect the keylogger, VIPRE, can be fooled by Microsoft's Live Application multi-language support folder. This has been confirmed at F-Secure and two other publications.]]> Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:28:21 +0000 069059b7ef840f0c74a814ec9237b6ec Microsoft to manage the world? http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/microsoft-to-manage-the-world-r25 it is not surprising to see the desire and need for a centralize control point in the enterprise environment. For those less familiar, this is where the enterprise downloads system and anti-virus updates and automatically distributes them to all the systems on some kind of schedule. This makes much more sense that having staff roam about the facilities and doing these task manually, or trusting the end-user to do them.[indent].[/indent]On Wednesday Mar 23, 2011, Microsoft has boldly announced that the
Microsoft System Center will now manage (get this) not only just the Micosoft product line, but from now on,
the enterprise can use Microsoft System Center to manage (gulp), Linux, Apple, iPhone and Andorid products![indent].[/indent]Wow! That gesture to assist the business user will certainly get attention, but would you take your Mercedes to a Ford dealer for maintenance? From time to time we may elect to take our vehcile to the neighborly Joe the Mechanic for trivial stuff, but when it gets serious, where do you go? Yea, I like Joe too and I get some good prices and great service, but there are things that the manufacture can do better due to more experience, reference material, parts availability and factory support.[indent].[/indent]IMO, this will be interesting to see the hype and or the success/failure blogs.]]> Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:39:45 +0000 3def184ad8f4755ff269862ea77393dd The shoemaker http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/the-shoemaker-r24
Now using that as a backdrop, what are your expectations of vendors which sell (or give away, it doesn't matter) security products? Should they not be the bastions of "this is how we do it? We use our own tools and have trapped / blocked all infections from the Internet and so can you".

One would think that leading by example and providing templates and profiles for layered security, gateway controls for protection of intellectual property, securing email, in-house DNS services, and methods of controlling those ubiquitous USB devices would just naturally be the forefront of the vendor's promotional collateral.

However, what is the experience in the market place today; one security vendor has been fooled into creating fraudulent SSL certificates and another vendor's product has been hacked. This raises the question "if the vendors themselves can not protect their systems, then can anyone secure an infrastructure?"

Yea, we all know there is no sliver bullet to kill this vampire and without real demonstrable results, there is no success story to promote (sigh). But until we try to do better, nothing will change. Have you ever heard the definition of insane - - - Insanity is doing the thing over and over but expecting somehow to find a different result. Change comes with (sometimes) a great deal of struggle and sometimes even with pain, but without change - - are we not insane?

When you rehab a structure, one of the first things you do is to ensure that the foundation is stable and sound. Why invest time, effort and money on a superstructure when the foundation is on the verge of collapse? The 'foundations of the Internet', amongst others are the TCP/IP system itself, the DNS system and basic Email services. TCP/IP is undergoing the conversion to IPv6 and if IPSEC is mandated, the transport system will be much better. The DNS system is has a new incarnation, DNSSEC which will block the DNS cache poisoning and give everyone authenticated responses. As for Email - - todays' SMTP is just hopeless. It is built upon terrible assumptions (I trust you and you can trust me) and that's not sufficient in the 21st century. A whole new Email system is required and that WILL be painful, but unless we are narcissistic and love to fight spam every morning, we are just volunteering to be committed until we make that effort.

I wonder, going back to the leading by example "this is how we do it" statement, if this is an opportunity to create a consortium of vendors to solve root causes? Perhaps a laboratory might be created to work on real solutions rather than continuing insanely.

In case you're wondering, What seeded this rant, it was the Infoworld.com March 25, 2011 article by Robert Lemos

Quote

"As attacks on the security infrastructure increase, we must ask if the firms responsible for our safety can protect themselves, much less us"
]]> Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:19:25 +0000 c8ffe9a587b126f152ed3d89a146b445 <![CDATA[Tablets Straining Nation's Wi-Fi]]> http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/tablets-straining-nations-wi-fi-r23
Consumers are expected to snatch up 24 million iPad 2's this year, leading the tablet-tech boom that's keeping Americans informed, entertained, and untethered.

"I think people are looking for all the right devices that's connected all the time, that has great battery life, that comes on immediately, it's always on line and can be communicating constantly," says CNET executive editor Molly Wood.

But experts say unlike modern cell phone networks, many Wi-Fi hot spots at locations such as coffee shops and airports can only handle a handful of users at a time. As more people go online, the result can be the wireless equivalent of a traffic jam: everyone trying to use the same road at once and are no one getting anywhere quickly.

It was a problem Steve Jobs himself encountered last year when so many Wi-Fi users at his keynote speech effectively blocked his ability to demonstrate the latest features of the iPhone 4.

"We have all these technology companies pushing wireless gadgets. We need to have an infrastructure to support the use of those gadgets otherwise they're expensive paperweights," said technology analyst Larry Magid.

Tablets made by Apple, Motorola, Samsung and others use a lot of bandwidth, which is limited, and rely on internet access from networks at home, hotels, restaurants, medical centers and schools. But most Wi-Fi networks were built for a relatively small number of laptops -- not for dozens of media-rich, portable devices with video conferencing capabilities that are in continuous use by people who take them everywhere.

Companies like Ruckus Wireless are responding with "smart antennas" designed to improve reliability, and help users maintain their connection when scores of other tablets are in use are in the same area.

Service providers like Comcast and AT&T are also charging users additional fees if they heavily exceed a monthly cap on data. Chip makers are also tackling this overload issue, which is a supply and demand problem that's only expected to grow alongside sales of today's must-have gadgets.

]]> Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:44:49 +0000 202cb962ac59075b964b07152d234b70 Windows 7 - Service Pack 1 released http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/windows-7-service-pack-1-released-r19
The initial Service Pack patches a number of security alerts over a wide range - including a critical level patch to the Print Spool Mechanism that has been present and exploited since early Windows versions.

The file (direct download 537mb - 903mb or update size 44mb - 74mb) is available form microsoft.com or by loading the control pannel > Click Windows Updates and then searching for ne available updates.
Users are urged to make sure all previous updates are installed and working before installing the new Service Pack.

Changes to the day to day running of the operating system are extremely minimal and patches only very small usability sets.

A number of users have reported difficulty installing the service pack and are therefore requested to post a topic on the Tech-101 Windows forum to discuss your problem > http://www.tech-101....m/53-windows-7/]]> Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:23:21 +0000 07e1cd7dca89a1678042477183b7ac3f Intel halts Sandy Bridge sales http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/intel-halts-sandy-bridge-sales-r18
The manufacturer is recalling current version of the processors at a cost of around $1bn (£600m) due to a fault in the underlying architecture of the processor.
Cougar Point - the connection used to combine both graphics and processing to the single chip was found to be flawed which would lead to problems connecting to DVD and Hard drives.

Currently 500 models of PC are under development which will all be halted while the new version of the chip is in development.
Current releases of motherboards and CPU's will need to be withdraw the the CPU will have to be re-designed to deal with the flaw.

The fault will cause a huge global underlying halt to the development of new PC models which could take up to and over 3 months.

Intel's competitor - AMD found a bonus jump of 5% in their share prices as it is seen their rival chip - Fusion - could be called into early release/development with further contractors possibly opening the door for them to take a share of Intel's profits and share.

Top-end processors, the second-generation Core i5 and Core i7 - sold around the 9th of January are likely to be affected - around 8 million chips.
Although the failures would occur over a 3 year period the replacement program is being rolled out.

Original article found in - The Guardian.

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:14:17 +0000 5ef059938ba799aaa845e1c2e8a762bd Avast! 6.0 released: brings automatic virtu... http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/avast-60-released-brings-automatic-virtu-r16
You can download the new 6.0 Avast today from http://www.avast.com...ivirus-download

The new avast! 6.0 will provide no-hassle ‘virtualization’ to all users, giving them even greater security. AutoSandbox is the first time that a free antivirus will offer virtualization technology together with outstanding malware detection.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, January 24, 2011 – AVAST Software is including an array of new technologies in its soon-to-be released avast! 6.0, including virtualization technology for all of its free users.

“AVAST is so committed to free, we are providing all of our users with this virtualization technology for free,” says Ondrej Vlcek, CTO of AVAST Software. “It is not always certain that an item is 100 percent clean but with AutoSandbox virtualization, we’ve created a safe space between the known good and bad content which will make life safer for all avast users – whether they are using our free or paid-for products.”

Virtualization technology enables people to create a ‘virtual’ computer inside their physical machine. If they encounter malware while browsing the internet or running an infected application, the virtual computer will shut down, leaving their real computer unharmed and running. “Most viruses are spread through executable commands and scripts are the entry point. By isolating the binary in a virtual computer, the real machine stays clean,” explains Mr. Vlcek.

Posted Image

AutoSandbox, a free virtualized environment for testing suspicious code, makes virtualization an easy one-click choice. “Virtualization has the potential to significantly increase user safety, but people have been slow to adopt this technology—even when it’s a part of their antivirus package,” says Mr. Vlcek. “AutoSandbox shifts virtualization from being an ‘IT geek’ specialty to an automatic, easily accessible safety feature for all avast users.”

AutoSandbox identifies and prompts users to run suspicious applications in a safe virtual environment. Users have three options: execute the file within the virtual AutoSandbox, run it outside the sandbox, or cancel running the application entirely. “It’s a win-win for users, if the item is dangerous it just shuts down the virtual computer and the user’s real machine remains safe. And, if the item is safe, there is no hassle from a false positive,” adds Mr. Vlcek.

The new feature will be available at no cost to all avast! users – including those with avast! Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, and the premium Internet Security suite.]]> Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:13:40 +0000 c45147dee729311ef5b5c3003946c48f Cell phone network overload; any solutions? http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/cell-phone-network-overload-any-solutions-r15 article by Margerite Reardon published Feb 24, 2010 on Cnet.com discusses how our cell phones create conjestion to the point of strangling all users at a given cell-site, particularly at large events like CES, U.S. Open or some concert.

The article goes on to explain how a WiFi connection can and has been used to offload traffic and thus improve user Internet access.

Recommened reading ...]]> Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:53:43 +0000 2b44928ae11fb9384c4cf38708677c48 Zeus Trojan hits ING customers http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/zeus-trojan-hits-ing-customers-r14
F-Secure wrote that it appears to be the same style of attack found by the Spanish security company S21sec last September, which marked a disconcerting evolution in Zeus, one of the most advanced banking Trojans designed to steal passwords.

Zeus has changed its tactics, since some banks are now using one-time passcodes sent by SMS to authorize transactions performed on a desktop machine. First, attackers infect a person's desktop or laptop. Then, when that person logs into a financial institution such as ING, it injects HTML fields into the legitimate Web page. [/indent]
The original NetworkWorld.com Article By Jeremy Kirk, February 21, 2011 contains the details.

[comment]As discussed in Methods of Authentication:
One-time token is a password that is random and good for only one session. The next session requires a different token. This avoids any keylogger from capturing and replaying the UserID + Token. The issue is how to securely give the token to the user for that one-time use? Email works as the URL & UserID are not in the email. SMS texting to a cell phone should work if the message could not be intercepted and/or was encrypted (premise is false!). A numeric page to a pager is another possibility.
[/comment]]]> Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:53:12 +0000 5fd0b37cd7dbbb00f97ba6ce92bf5add VIDEO: Japanese Researches Develop Humanoid Rob... http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/video-japanese-researches-develop-humanoid-rob-r13

Computer scientists in Japan are developing a robotic arm, that mimics human movement. They believe the technology will eventually replace the mouse and keyboard, for a 3D interactive experience on future computers.

Tsukuba University's robotic arm can do almost anything a human arm can do.

Two cameras stream real-time video of human gestures to a pair of laptop computers. The laptops process the video signal and send corresponding instructions to the robotic arm so when the human reaches to grab an object, so does the robot.]]> Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:49:12 +0000 73278a4a86960eeb576a8fd4c9ec6997 Apple: New Subscription Feature for Publishers http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/apple-new-subscription-feature-for-publishers-r11
According to Apple, there’s no software updates or anything users need to get: subscriptions will just start to become available over time. Apparently, Elle magazine’s app for iOS is one that is already offering subscriptions, in case you want to run and see what it’s like.

Apples Official Press Release]]> Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:58:41 +0000 698d51a19d8a121ce581499d7b701668 Crysis 2 release March 22nd - Leaked Early http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/crysis-2-release-march-22nd-leaked-early-r10
It's unclear at this time how Crysis 2 hit the web nearly two months early, but developer Crytek says the leaked version is a "incomplete build."

Cevat Yerli, CEO and President of Crytek, issued a statement this afternoon addressing the leak:

"As you all have heard by now, an early, incomplete build of Crysis 2 has been leaked online. While we are deeply disappointed by these events, we are all completely overwhelmed by the support we have received from you, our community.

Despite this unfortunate incident, we can assure you that PC gaming is very important to us and will always be important to Crytek in the future. We are all still focused on delivering a great gaming experience to our true and honest fans. I hope you will enjoy Crysis 2 on PC, as we think it is our best PC game yet!

We appreciate all of your continued support, and look forward to playing online with you soon!

Thank you,
Cevat Yerli"]]> Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:07:09 +0000 5f93f983524def3dca464469d2cf9f3e Protect your Facebook presence http://www.tech-101.com/index.php/index.html/_/articles/frontpage/protect-your-facebook-presence-r9
Backed by the power of Websense , Defensio provides superior security against threats targetting social media, along with improved management and control of content posted on any site.

see the description of Defensio 2.0 in detail

*Note (Free for personal use)]]> Tue, 15 Feb 2011 01:34:07 +0000 1f0e3dad99908345f7439f8ffabdffc4