So I haven’t posted in a while, but I’m too busy right now to do a real content post so here’s a link to a pretty simple tips & tricks article on InfoSoup about keeping your iPhone battery
http://blog.techsoup.org/node/1364?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=btc
I’ve been running Windows 7 since beta and I only just found out about this feature called XP mode for Windows 7 (Professional and Ultimate versions only). I still haven’t tried it much, I have yet to see a need for it, and I run tons and tons of old junk. However, in the off chance that you have an application that will run in Windows XP, but just refuses to function in Windows Vista or Windows 7, this tool may be for you.
I won’t go into to much detail, but it’s built on top of Windows Virtual PC technology (which used to be Microsoft Virtual PC 2007). Windows XP mode is basically an installation of Windows XP, that runs transparently in a Virtual machine on your Windows 7 desktop. Complicated … ish … the technology is complex, but the simple integratioin makes the usage very simple. Whatever the difficulty level, it’s Friggin Cool for Shizzles!!!
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/windows-xp-mode.aspx
This XP mode is only supported in the Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7, just another reason to shy away from using the Home versions in a business environment. It is a seperate download, but is free.
Update: This screencast is already out of date as I’ve taken some user suggestions and chaged around a bit of the site configuration. There are are now 3 required fields on the registration page which will help other users to more easily recognize posters. The Time Zone option should be defaulted to CST now but I haven’t verified that yet.
After publishing the WVLS IT Forum I received some requests asking about how to use it.
This tutorial got a little verbose and it was 12:30ish AM so I was speaking soft and quiet … just turn the volume up a bit if you need to. I’m going to work on future casts being a bit more concise and targeting one specific thing at a time. It’s hard for me to watch anything longer than 2 minutes so that’s my target time for future tutorials …. in fact, maybe I’ll create a section called Two Minute Tutorials … I’d go with Two Minute Tutes … but that sounds …. odd … and TMTs is too close to TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) which to this day gets me chanting “Go ninja go ninja go … Go ninja go ninja go! and hopping and skipping around like Vanilla Ice.”
I’ve been meaning to write up a bit about these fake virus warnings but haven’t had the time to go out and find some good screenshots and info. Well I was “lucky” enough to get one such attack tonight while tooling around on Facebook. Below are some screen shots showing the progression of this style of attack as I attempt to close out the windows.
This image shows the initial phaze of the attack: deception\immitation. It is attempting to look like a valid Windows Security Component. There are a few key points that give away the ruse:
1) This is still an Internet Explorer window (could be FireFox or Safari – same thing – it’s still a browser window).
2) The web address in the Internet browser is not easily identifiable as a credible security source and is DEFINITELY not a Microsoft or windows system address.
3) The “System” items which the false page displays do not match up with the actual system… and in my case I’m running a version of windows that looks completely difference than this.
4) After attempting to close the window by clicking the [X] button, this pop-up labeled “Message From Webpage”. If you weren’t leery yet you should be now. Lets click the [X] on this message box and see what happens.
Another pop-up displays which is again designed to look like a legitimate windows component. If I were running Windows XP at this point I might have been a bit nervous at first but a second glance reveals the false nature of the window. I’ve never personally heard of Windows Web Security and after reading the entire window the grammar is the biggest give-away. I’ll click the [X] here too.
After making it past the first few somewhat well crafted attempts at subterfuge, this is a pretty paltry attempt to keep my interest. The grammar again is the big give-away on this window.
Bottom line? If you see antivirus\anti-spyware messages be wary and vigilant. Don’t take any pop-ups or the messages they claim at face value. Read them, and understand them before continuing.
Modern attacks are aware of antivirus software being present and are designed to That’s a basic walk through of a typical fake Windows Security attack. Identifying this type of attack and avoiding it is the most important step in avoiding its damaging effects. What I have not yet mentioned is almost as important. If you get through the windows before realizing what’s up, do NOT restart your computer until you’re fairly sure a cleanup has occurred. That can be difficult due to the nature of these programs, but your best chance of recovery will be to undo the damage before a restart. Give your local PC service provider a call as on site service will be your best bet. And of course you can always call me and I’ll do my best to help you work through it.
I’ve created a new website http://wvls.jajulu.com/itforum to use as a gathering place for technology related discussions within the WVLS community.
I’ve written a brief introduction to the site which can be found here:
http://bit.ly/WVLS-TechForumIntro
And have started the first topic for discussion which can be found here:
http://bit.ly/WVLS-TechForumAV
The most basic and simple way to take a screen-shot (screen-snap, snapshot, screen capture, whatever you call it) dating back to Windows 95 (3.1 even maybe?) is this:
This will just take a raw bitmat (.bmp) snapshot of the entire screen, then insert the image content into the chosen application. For more advanced, fine tune control over your screen shots you’ll need a few tools. Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with a tool call ‘Snipping Tool’ which can be used to capture only the content of a user selected area.
For Windows XP you’ll have to use a 3rd party tool. If you have MS Office on your XP machine, odds are you’ll have a little used program called Office Picture Manager (Start > All Programs > MS Office > MS Office Tools > MS Office Picture Manager). You can use this application in lieu of Wordpad in step 2 above, then use it’s editing functionality to crop the screenshot down to only the portion you need. You can then save the image as a JPG or PNG to reduce it’s file size.
