IDrive Remote Backup
September 2010 | Tech Geek and More

Archive for September 2010

Giveaway – Panda Cloud Anti-Virus Paid Version Licenses

Posted on September 16, 2010 by

**Update – 10/4/2010…..Due to illness, announcing the winners was a little delayed, but now Tech Geek and More would like to congratulate Mr. G.T, Jesus, John D., and Gitesh.  An email has been sent to each of you with instructions on getting Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro.  Thank you again to everyone (as always) for visiting TGM.

Alex

Head of TeachGeekandMore.com

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Panda AV After using the Panda Cloud Anti-Virus (LINK: http://www.techgeekandmore.com/2010/09/16/panda-antivirus-review-cloud-free-paid-versions-test-recommend/ ), and seeing how it worked 1st hand, Tech Geek and More is very happy to be able to giveaway 4 licenses to the paid version of Panda Cloud Anti-Virus.

image

If you are interested in getting 1 of the licenses for the paid version of the Panda Cloud Software, here is what you will need to do.  (Trying to Keep it simple)

- Post a message below this post (with your correct info).

The 4 people selected will be notified on Wednesday 9/22 via Email (with instructions)

Good Luck

Software: Panda Cloud Antivirus – Review

Posted on September 16, 2010 by

Panda AV Last week I was given an opportunity to try Panda’s Cloud Anti-virus solution.  I’ve always been under the belief that I need to directly use a product before I tell others what I think, I’m not comfortable just going by awards or others word of mouth alone. So for the past week I have been running Panda’s cloud solution on a couple of computers and here is what I have found so far.

  • It works simply
  • Its footprint is small

–> I’ve installed the Paid version of the software on a Windows 7 Enterprise (32 bit, w/500 gig HD, 2 gigs of memory) Lenovo laptop that is my work horse machine.  My laptop is running about 18 hours a day 7 days a week. I have seen no slow downs during boot up, during usage, or shut down.  I’ve been able to run a full scan of the Panda software and still continue to multi-task (Connected to customers via GoToMeeting or PCAnywhere, while doing documentation, transferring large files, access email, streaming music/TV, web surfing, etc.). Previously when I had other Anti-Virus products installed on the same machine (Symantec being one of them), the laptop would struggle while the scan was going on.

–> I installed the free version on a Ultra Mobile PC (Samsung) running Windows XP Tablet Edition (32bit, 40 gig HD, 1 Gig of Memory).  The UMPC has struggled with  most anti-virus software, however, Panda has been running with no sign of issues.  The UMPC is used for handheld software testing for a couple of the customers I serve.   Previously The UMPC had been running Microsoft Security Essential and MSC would lock up the UMPC every time I tried to do a full hard drive scan, Panda has not had that issue.

  • I have various tools that I use to check and see if the Anti-Virus is working.  Everything I tried to throw at it, was found and cleaned up.**

**The only issue I discovered is that the software had difficulty cleaning up a pc that was already infected prior to Panda being installed.

The Panda Cloud Software comes in both a free (for personal use and non-profit organizations only) and paid version ($29.95 for 1 year / $65.95 for 3 year’s of coverage), the differences are as follows

image

So far in my usage of the Panda software, I can feel comfortable saying that I can recommend giving Panda Cloud Software a try.

Android: (Possible) Solution for Angry Birds Game NOT starting

Posted on September 5, 2010 by

android Angry Birds is one of the most annoying and at the same time most addicting games I’ve ever played. Angry Birds which was just released for the droid is the story of survival of a group of birds that Dish out revenge on the greedy pigs who stole their eggs (Duh – That’s why they are angry) . You use the unique powers of each bird to destroy the pigs’ fortresses. Angry Birds features challenging physics-based gameplay that requires logic, skill, and force to crush the enemy.

Angry Birds can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace (LINK) http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.rovio.angrybirds_lite (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/app/com NULL.rovio NULL.angrybirds_lite) or using the QR Code

image (http://chart NULL.apis NULL.google NULL.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=150x150&chl=market://search%3Fq%3Dpname:com NULL.rovio NULL.angrybirds_lite)
Once you install Angry Birds you can find it in the All apps section of your phone

image[3]

One of the issues that I have been asked about with Angry Birds is that it seems not to start on some phones.  During the startup process for the game you see the following screens

image

The Opening Screen from Rovio

image

Followed by the Angry Birds (Lite) Title screen and that’s it.  The phone goes directly back to your phones desktop

image

(**This is the screen on my phone)

The (Possible) Solution to be able to run Angry Birds

Step #1 – Under All Apps go to Settings

image

Step #2 – In settings select Applications

image

Step #3 – In Applications select Manage Applications

image

Step #4 – In the Managed Applications Window look for the Angry Birds App and click on it

image

Step #5 – On the Info Screen click on Move to Phone.  The game loads by default to the SD Card and for some phones it seems that is where the hang up happens.  The button will change from “Move to Phone” to say “Move to SD”

image <—Before  image <—After

Step #6 (And Final Step) During the game start up – Continuously tap the phone screen or hold your finger to the screen as soon as you see the title/splash screen for the game until it moves to the next screen.  (**On my phone (EVO) tapping has worked but on a different phone (droid X) this was tested on holding your finger to the screen worked, so you may need to test both ways**)

image[40]

Once you see the intro screen – you have made it to play the game.

image image

I know this is a lot for a BETA game – However in the interest of my sanity, here is how I get in to play the game, so that you don’t have to ask (me!).

**Game Tip – Use the pinch function on the phone screen to zoom in and out of the screen.  (Hope that helps)

Android: TGM List of Preferred Android Apps – Free

Posted on September 5, 2010 by

Android I’ve been enjoying my Sprint EVO phone since it’s release a few weeks ago.  Coming from years of using Windows Mobile, learning Android has been “interesting” to say the least.  In the Past few weeks I have found many apps that were nothing more than garbage, while at the same time finding many more that now I cant live without.

Since there are so many on my list, this post has gotten its own page. You have find the list of Preferred Android Apps here (LINK) http://www.techgeekandmore.com/android-tgm-list-of-preferred-android-apps-free/

This list will continue to grow over time…..in addition if you have an app that you use that is not on the TGM list let us know.

***9-5-10 / List is now updated and up to 91 Android Apps and counting.  The list is still a work in progress.

Android: How to install apps on your Android phone.

Posted on September 4, 2010 by

android The following post was inspired by a friend who said that she just got her 1st droid and wanted to know “what do I do now”.  Since she was coming from a non-smart phone, as so many people it seems like these days (Android saw an 888% increase in users based on a recent reports http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10839034 (http://www NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/news/technology-10839034) ).

With all these new users, I figured an Android “How to” would be in order.  A couple of things to keep in mind with Android is that most apps you will want will come from a “Marketplace” and for Android there is more than 1 marketplace to choose from (Like going to Safeway vs. Acme vs. Vons…..etc.).  All the Marketplaces offer a lot of the same products (like the supermarket) but they each have their own twists.  Do you need to pick just one of the markets to use, no not at all, in addition to the market(s) many sites will also have apps you can directly download for Android

How to Install Applications

 

To install applications using Android Market perform the following steps:

  • Open the Android Market application in the Applications menu.

image

  • You can select any option – Applications, Games, Search or My Downloads based on what you want to do. You will then get a list of applications or games to choose from. You can also search for any particular application using the magnifying glass (on the top right) . You will then get a list of apps with their description and rating.

image

  • Click on the application you want and you will get more details of that application – the number of downloads and user comments.

image

  • To install it, just click on the Install button on the bottom of the screen.

image

  • Prior to the install starting, you will see a final screen letting you know what the program you are installing will have access to.  If you have privacy concerns, this is the screen you want to pay attention to, so that you can know what information about you the program your installing is collecting.  Just click on OK to finish installing the application.image[21]
  • Once installed just look in your program list and the app will be ready to use.

 

Marketplaces for the Android

As mentioned earlier Android has more than one Marketplace.  The most common marketplaces in addition to the one that comes with your Android the Marketplace created by your cell service provider

- Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.

As well as the following sites (There are additional sites but these are two of the Major Ones)

- APP Brain App Marketplace (LINK) http://www.appbrain.com/ (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/)

For App Brain you can do a search from the Main Android Marketplace and you will find a download for your phone that will allow you to search directly from your phone (exactly) the same way you do with the Android Marketplace.

-  Android Lib (LINK) http://www.androlib.com/ (http://www NULL.androlib NULL.com/)

For Android Lib they do not have an app for your phone, however, when searching their site, you will find a QR code next to each app.  The QR code can be used to make installing on your Android phone extremely simple (QR Code directions below)

Using QR Codes with your Android phone

One of the features that makes accessing links on your phone extremely simple involves using QR Codes.  The QR Code below is the code for the TechGeekandMore.com Mobile site.

TechGeekandMoreMobileBarcode_thumb (file:///C:/Users/anovelo NULL.IMS/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/supfiles173FFD8/TechGeekandMoreMobileBarcode2 NULL.png)

A QR Code is a matrix (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Matrix_(mathematics)) barcode (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode) (or two-dimensional code (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode#Matrix_ NULL.282D NULL.29_barcodes)), readable (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Machine-readable_medium) by QR scanners (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode_reader), mobile phones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Mobile_phone) with camera (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Camera), and smartphones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Smartphones). The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/URL) or other data. (From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/QR_Code) )

A QR code, derived from “Quick Response”, is a two dimensional matrix bar code created by a Japanese corporation back in 1994 to allow its contents to be decoded at very high speed. Here is how to scan QR bar codes in order to get apps.

Instructions

From either the Android Marketplace or the APP Brain Marketplace, do a search for “Barcode Scanner”.  You will see many scanners for download (as of this post there were 88 choices). I recommend that you install the app called “Barcode Scanner” developed by ZXing Team for Android phones. It is a free application and should be one of the 1st ones on the list.  This barcode scanner is what you will use to then be able to access the QR code barcodes.

  • Once installed, launch Barcode Scanner

Barcode Scanner (http://i NULL.ehow NULL.com/images/a05/nh/1u/scan-barcodes-apps-motorola-droid-1 NULL.1-800X800 NULL.jpg)

  • Scan QR codes – To scan a QR code, move your phone towards the code and allowing enough distance from your Android phones camera in order to focus on the QR codes. You can scan almost any QR codes directly from your computer screen, as well as, magazines, or newspaper.                        Scan QR codes (http://i NULL.ehow NULL.com/images/a05/nh/1u/scan-barcodes-apps-motorola-droid-1 NULL.3-800X800 NULL.jpg)
  • When the QR code is successfully read, you will be notified that a URL is found. Simply click “Open Browser” button and you will see that the app is found quickly.

image

  • At which point when you click open browser, you will get the prompt to install the program.

image[27]

 

That’s all there is to it, to install apps on Android……

SIMPLE!!!

computer-virus.jpg

ALERT: New rogueware that can detect customize itself depending on browser

Posted on September 2, 2010 by

In a never ending effort to inform the visitors to Tech Geek and More, here is another ALERT concerning a new version of Rogueware (Rogue:MSIL/Zeven (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry NULL.aspx?Name=Rogue:MSIL/Zeven)) that can actually figure out what web browser you are using and then customize the fake message to look like a standard message for the browser you are using.  As always the reason these types of attacks work is because of the social engineering aspect, most people don’t know any better, they assume that if the message pops up on their pc the “it must be true”.  Unfortunately the messages that you will see as a result of the Rogueware are nothing more than a trick to get control of your pc.

The following article (Written by Daniel Radu of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center) comes from the Microsoft TechNet Blog (http://blogs NULL.technet NULL.com/b/mmpc/archive/2010/09/01/rogue-msil-zeven-wants-a-piece-of-the-microsoft-security-essentials-pie NULL.aspx). You should pay close attention to what the fake alert can look at in each of the browsers (At the bottom of the message you get “Upgrade to a reliable solution”).

Read more