Alert: Adobe issues a critical update for its Shockwave player. You really need to update your system if you have Shockwave installed.

Adobe has issues a “Critical” update for its Shockwave player. By Critical, they mean that a bad guy could potentially run software on your machine that could expose you to malware or viruses without you knowing. In the past, you got viruses because you downloaded a file or clicked on an email attachment, so you knew you were “safe” as long as you followed basic common sense. Now a days, instead of trying to trick you, they just look for issues in software and then use those issues to get past you and any security you may have on your pc.

Imagine your home, every time you leave, you check all your windows and doors and make sure they are locked (at least I hope you do). Now imagine that the lock to the front door breaks and falls off, and instead of getting a new lock, you just shut the door and hope no one notices. Guess what, you may get away with it for a while, but eventually your luck may run out and a bad guy will use the broken lock to get in and steal from you. These critical updates are the computer equivalent of that lock on your door. By updating, you are going out and getting a newer / better lock.

For those Geeks out there, here is some basic information on the alert. The complete alert can be found at (LINK) Adobe (http://www NULL.adobe NULL.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb11-27 NULL.html)

Security update available for Adobe Shockwave Player

Release date: November 8, 2011

Vulnerability identifier: APSB11-27

CVE number: CVE-2011-2446, CVE-2011-2447, CVE-2011-2448, CVE-2011-2449

Platform: Windows and Macintosh

Summary

Critical (http://www NULL.adobe NULL.com/devnet/security/security_zone/severity_ratings NULL.html) vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.1.629 and earlier versions on the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker, who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities, to run malicious code on the affected system. Adobe recommends users of Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.1.629 and earlier versions update to Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.3.633 using the instructions provided below.

Affected software versions

Shockwave Player 11.6.1.629 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh

So how do you know if your computer has Adobe Shockwave installed. PC users, you can go to Start –> settings –> Control Panel –> Add/Remove programs (XP and earlier) or Programs and Features (Vista and Win 7). Then look at the list of installed programs, if you see Adobe Shockwave installed, then you have it. (It doesn’t matter if it is used or not, it just matters that its installed on your pc).

So you ask “What is the Shockwave program, and more importantly, why do I have it?” or “I don’t remember downloading that?”. The answer is that you didn’t, at least most likely not directly downloaded. From (LINK) Wikipedia (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Adobe_Shockwave)

“Adobe Shockwave (formerly Macromedia Shockwave) is a multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to web pages”

Which means that if you play 1 of 1000’s of various online games, you probably saw a pop up that said something along the lines of “This program requires Adobe Shockwave, Do you wish to download it” (That’s NOT the exact wording), and since the majority of people never read those pop up’s, you just clicked run and went along playing your game.

So now what do you do if you find that you have it. Here is the solution directly from Adobe

Solution

Adobe recommends users of Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.1.629 and earlier versions upgrade to the newest version 11.6.3.633 available here: http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/ (http://get NULL.adobe NULL.com/shockwave/).

When you click on the link from Adobe, you will arrive at the following page.

Click on Agree and Install now. This will bring up one of the following pop ups where you will click on Install (Yes I know again)

**Be aware of a pop up that you may see after you click install. (This pop up really gets me !@#!@$!%%^!&!*&)

If you see a pop up for the Google Toolbar or Any other Toolbar make sure to uncheck the box before clicking next. (Commentary: If this is a critical update, as noted, Why Adobe, WHY! are you trying to sneak in software that should stand on its own. If people want a toolbar let them go and get it, don’t try to get paid or whatever other benefit you are getting for tricking people who either don’t know or don’t read messages to end up with something else they probably DON’T NEED! That’s the end of my soapbox)

Once you see your browser show the following message

You have completed the update for this browser. I know your saying WHAT! Unfortunately Shockwave comes in 2 versions. One version is for Internet Explorer and One version is for all other web browsers (that’s the program you use to surf the web). The instructions above were based on Internet Explorer, if you have a 2nd (or more) browser installed like Firefox, Chrome, Opera, etc. then you need to do this again using one of those browsers. Remember it doesn’t matter if you don’t use them, if they are installed on your pc, then you MUST do the upgrade. Just follow the exact same steps with the other browser to complete the upgrade.

Lastly, the focus of this post was for Windows users, but Mac users, keep in mind this affects you too. If you have a Mac you should do this update as well.

Facebook: Posts from 3rd party apps not appearing on your page? Here is one possible reason why.

Like everyone else, I have a “connected” life. One of the most common things I do on a daily basis is post from my phone apps to Facebook. What I have noticed in the past couple of days is that anything I would post from 3rd party apps (Like Foursquare, Wordbooker, Cardio Trainer, etc.) stopped appearing on my News Feed page in Facebook. If I checked my profile I would see the posts, but they would be listed as “Only Me” in the post setting.

I was baffled at 1st, as I know I hadn’t made any changes to my settings, and none of the 3rd party apps on my phone had recently been updated. So I started poking around and found the answer. It seems Facebook made a change in Account Settings –> Apps , that at least I (and a few others who have also asked about this issue) didn’t know. Surprise Facebook made changes to account settings (They wouldn’t never do that, I say with sarcasm).

To fix the setting to allow your 3rd party apps to show again in your News Feed, check / adjust the following setting

1) From the top right of Facebook select “down” arrow –> followed by Account Settings

2) Once you reach Account Settings –> select Apps (on left) –> then select edit on the app you want to fix (on right)

3) Once you get to the App Settings area –> scroll to the very bottom of the page (this is why you could miss it, as on some apps there is a lot of scrolling). At the bottom you will see a section called “App activity privacy” (On left). The change you will need is on the right –> this is where you can select who will get to see your post from that 3rd party app.

In my case the setting for all my apps was set to Custom –> Only me. Unfortunately this setting is per 3rd party app, so you will have to go through them 1 by 1. This however solves the mystery of the 3rd party apps not showing.

**Note (Reminder) – These are security settings, if you are looking at them, this would also be a good time to delete apps that shouldn’t be on your profile (either because you don’t use them anymore or don’t know what they are). In addition, you may not want all 3rd party apps to post to Facebook. Review each app carefully before changing its setting to make sure what it does.

Tech: Removing the In place Ad’s in Internet Explorer – Also known as Vibrant Ad’s

*This was originally posted in 2010, but recently I’ve seen this question come up a lot more than usual, so a repost for those with this Vibrant Ad issue.

One of the questions I keep getting asked involves “pop up ads” that appear as highlighted words on Webpages. What you will see when browsing on various sites is that key words will be highlights and double underlined (As shown on example below), and when you place your mouse over the key word a “related” ad to the key word will appear.

There are a couple of problems with this, 1st off the ad pops up as long as you move your mouse, so you DONT get a choice on if you want to see it or not and 2nd, allot of those “related” ads may be related to the key word itself, but may have nothing to do with the topics you are searching for. As in this post from a tech site, about a story the new i-Phone leak and when my mouse goes over the story, I get an ad for BP…..

So what do you do if you want to get rid of these ads. Here are the steps…..

1 – On the top of Internet Explorer – Go to Tools –> Internet Options\

2- Once in Internet Options, click on the “Security Tab” –> The on Restricted Sites –> The on the button that says Sites

3 – Once there in the box that says “Add this website to the zone enter the following 3 websites.

*.vibrantmedia.com
*.intellitxt.com
*.kontera.com

4 – You will need to refresh the webpage at this point by clicking on page refresh on the top of Internet Explorer.

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

*NOTE – Example ads are bigger in post than normal for example purposes.

**NOTE – Sites that offer Inline ads do this as a revenue stream so that they can offer viewers services for cheap or free, while making money from the ads.

***NOTE – Tech Geek and More does NOT use any form of Inline ads and if anyone comes across any form of inline ads within the TGM site, we ask to be notified immediately. Please send a screen shot if possible with details of what you see and from which posting. (SOAPBOX) Even though TGM is looking for ways to help with the cost of running the TGM site, it is felt that inline ads ruin the browsing experience and as such does not want those type of ads for its visitors. (END SOAPBOX)

Software: Android Users–Amazon Appstore Free App of the Day is Office Suite 5 Professional (10/26/11)

These days one of the most import things you will need is the ability to view and even edit documents sent to you in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel format. I know when I got my HTC Evo, all that I got was a very limited program (DocToGo) that would allow me to view files, but not actually do any editing. If I wanted editing features, I would need to pay to buy the full version. For various reasons, up to now, I have only kept the limited viewer, never bothering to do the upgrade.

Things changed today, as I discovered that the Amazon Appstore Free App of the day is Office Suite 5 Professional. Here is information on the app, from the (LINK) Amazon (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/gp/product/B0051UP5NQ/180-5621455-7084817?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_faad) page

Product Description

Just in case you need to bring the office home with you, OfficeSuite Pro is a complete feature-rich mobile office. When you can’t get it done between nine to five, OfficeSuite Pro makes your job as efficient and painless as possible.

Full-Featured Office

This office productivity suite has everything you need from mobile office software. With OfficeSuite Pro, access tools for word processing, developing spreadsheets, delivering presentations, and browsing PowerPoint and PDF files. Create, view, and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files.

Google Docs Integration

The software features the most commonly used desktop document formats and includes a File Browse. The integration with Google Docs allows you to access your remotely stored documents.

Compatibility

The program supports Microsoft Office 97 to 2010 text documents – DOC and DOCX (open , edit, and save), Microsoft Office 97 to 2010 spreadsheets – XLS and XLSX (open , edit, and save), opening PPT, PPTX, PPS, and PPSX presentations, PDF files viewing, and integration with Google Docs

I have been using the app this morning (I know not a long test period), and found overall that it works well both viewing and editing Word and Excel, and also works well

viewing a PowerPoint presentation with the app. The only thing I have noticed at issue (and I see it listed by a few people in the comments area) is that in Excel when using formulas in a cell, that the cell didn’t always show properly.

The Office Suite 5 Professional app is normally valued at $14.99, can be downloaded for free directly from your phone if you have the Amazon App Store installed, or by visiting the (LINK) Amazon (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011) page**.

**Unfortunately the Amazon App Store is only available in the U.S.

Software: Online Backup for your WordPress site data (Free)

One of the most import things to have when dealing with any kind of computer data is a GOOD BACKUP! Doesn’t matter if we are talking about your tablet, Windows PC, Mac, Linux pc. In addition, for those of us who run and manage online blog sites, backing up the site is also a necessary step to protect our work. A website can go down by many reasons from hardware/software issues at your host, to hackers trying to cause issues. Here is a solution to backup your site if you are a WordPress user, offered for Free by iDrive.

The best backup is the one that takes the least amount of work to complete, because the more you have to do, the more likely you are to skip doing it. Tech Geek and More has been using (LINK) iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com) for a number of years now. In addition, iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/?p=techgeekandmore) is a (paid) partner for Tech Geek and More for the past year.

iDrive has now released a free plugin (and who doesn’t like FREE) for WordPress that will on a nightly basis, back up your WordPress account into an iDrive account with 5 GB’s of space.

From the (LINK) iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/wordpress NULL.htm) site

“IDrive Plug-in for WordPress is an easy to use backup utility, designed specifically to backup WordPress blog data into your IDrive online backup account. It provides scheduled as well as immediate backup of WordPress blog data including files and MySQL database dump”

Features

Immediate backup of WordPress blog data, both files as well as MySQL data dump, into your IDrive online backup account
Scheduled backups occur after 12 midnight every day
Immediate restore of backed up data from your IDrive online backup account
Smart backup – Only the first backup transfers entire WordPress content, subsequent backups are incremental where only the modified data is backed up
Automatic notification via email on backup / restore status
Secure transfer of data to IDrive server using SSL. Non SSL transfer option is also available for non SSL servers
Detailed logging of backup / restore operations

To install this plug-in just find it from your plug-in section in the dashboard section of your WP install and select install.

Once installed, you will need to sign up for a new iDrive account (did I mention this one is free). *If you already have an account with iDrive for your pc backup, that account will not work for the plug in.

Once the plug-in is installed and activated, just go to the plug-in and click where it says “Click here” (as shown below) to set up your account.

Once your account is set up, you have a choice of doing an initial backup at that moment or just waiting for the regular scheduled backup.

I ran the backup initially just after install, and I did not find any down time for Tech Geek and More, while the backup was running.

One of the biggest advantages of using iDrive is the snapshot feature. This is a feature that they also include in the regular PC/Mac version of iDrive.

What are snapshots? (From the iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/online_faq_wordpress NULL.htm#q10) site)

Your IDrive for WordPress online account retains copies of your WordPress data for the last 10* days using the snapshots technology. A snapshot is an image of the backup data taken at a particular point of time, once everyday.

What this means is that you will have the last 10* days of your WordPress data in your account in the form of snapshots. Each snapshot will have data from the last backup performed for that particular day. This is useful if your WordPress blog data is corrupted by any means (hacks, bugs etc.).

You can restore any file, database dump, or even the entire blog from any previous snapshot and start your blog again.

Snapshots show up as folders having names like ‘BackUp_nightly.0_*’, ‘BackUp_nightly.9_*’ etc. ‘BackUp_nightly.0_*’ represents yesterday’s snapshot. ‘BackUp_nightly.9_*’ represents the snapshot taken 10 days back.

The additional storage requirements for Snapshots have no impact on your account quota usage.

* The number of days for which Snapshots are stored may change without notice.

And lastly important information for those considering using iDrive

System Requirements

WordPress 2.8.5 or higher hosted on a Linux / Unix system. WordPress blog hosted on a Windows system is not supported
JavaScript enabled web browser – IE, Safari, Firefox, Chrome
Admin access to WordPress dashboard to activate the Plug-in
PHP 5.1 or higher

Web: How to Import an evite to Facebook Events

A question I’ve gotten a lot recently involves the ability to send out an (LINK) Evite (http://new NULL.evite NULL.com/#home) and then have that Evite show up in (LINK) Facebook (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/) under the Events category in your profile. (This is for you Suraya)

After a little looking around I have come across the answer. To accomplish this you will need a an evite account (duh!), Gmail (https://accounts NULL.google NULL.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail NULL.google NULL.com%2Fmail%2F&bsv=llya694le36z&ss=1&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&from=login) account, Facebook (duh! again) and the Facebook app called .ics to event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/settings/?tab=applications#!/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info).

Steps to Complete the Import

1 – Complete your Evite. When you get the confirmation that says “Thank you, your invitation was sent!”, click on “View this invitation”.

***You will see a button for “Post to Facebook”, but that button only posts on your wall.

2 – Once your looking at your Evite, click on the “Add to Calendar”

3 – You will now see a pop up that lists 4 different calendars you can save to. Select Google Calendar.

4 – If you are already signed into Gmail or Google Calendar, it will go directly to your calendar. If you aren’t, you will be prompted to sign in. Once signed in you will see the Appointment. At this point click Save (from the top Left)

5 – Now go to the top right and click on the nut, then select Calendar settings

6 – In the Calendar setting, pick Calendars

7 – You will now pick the Calendar that has the appointment (In case you have multiple calendars created)

8 – Now scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a Green Button that says ICAL. Click on the bottom Green ICAL button.

9 – You will now see the link for your calendar. (*Link shown has been edited, what you will see will be longer). You need to highlight and copy link.

10 – Now go to (LINK) iCalendar to Event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info) App on Facebook.

11 – Lastly under Name of Subscription, enter the title you want shown on your events page. Then paste the address you copied on Google calendar. REALLY BIG NOTE: You will need to remove the letter S from the http part of the address you posted. (Below is shown how it should look) Now click subscribe.

12 – If you see this green bar appear, you have successfully added your Evite to your Facebook Events.

Facebook: Check your FB setting for the People, Pages, Places Directory

The Facebook People, Pages, Places directory feature (LINK) https://www.facebook.com/directory/people/ (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/directory/people/) has been out now a couple of weeks, however I still find people that don’t know about it. If you were concerned about (hoping for) privacy, well this feature just pretty much ends any and all hope. With the PPP directory Facebook has every user, page, place easily accessible to everyone.

All you need to know is a name (or you can just throw in a fake name if you want to meet strangers). The screen shot below is the current 1st page of the directory (as of 10/10/11)

Every user on Facebook is in this directory, and unfortunately (AGAIN!) Facebook does NOT give a way to completely opt out of being listed. However, there is something you can do to limit your visibility in the Facebook PPP directory.

There is now a setting (which seems to be set to Everyone by default) by going to your privacy settings (Top right of page) –> How You Connect (Bottom of page) as shown in the example below

Once you are in the “How You Connect” window, you will see as the very 1st choice “Who can look up your timeline by name or contact info?”

Any Facebook user who is still trying to hold out for just that little bit of privacy while still being able to use Facebook will want to change the setting to Friends only, or Friends of Friends if you are ok with privacy middle ground.

Making this change should limit your exposure from the PPP directory. As always its suggested that you look over all the settings under privacy (even make notes if you have a hard time remembering) on a regular basis, you never know when a setting could be changed or added “for your benefit” that you would rather not have.

Apple: Using an iPad 3G without getting a data plan (Basically Wi-Fi only mode)

In this economy there are times where you just don’t want to pay for all the bells and whistles. People are always looking for a way to cut the “FAT” out of expenses.

One way to save a little is to not pay the ridiculous prices cell providers charge for data services. (Keep in mind, that some of you may be under a data contract that has REALLY HIGH PENALTIES if you cancel, so check how much its going to cost you before trying to get out of your data plan) For those that already have expired contracts or can get out of your data plan, you could be seeing $50 or more a month in savings while still being able to use your device via Wi-Fi.

The specific situation I will be addressing at this point comes because of helping a friend (Shannon this one is for you) that has a 3G iPad from Verizon that she would like to use but doesn’t need the 3G access. Since the main uses for her iPad will be at home where she is already paying for internet (and has Wi-Fi) or maybe while out at Starbucks or McD’s. The error / issue she was getting was an error message about “Needing access to her account”. That message is because the 3G service is turned on with the iPad 3G by default.

So here is how you convert the iPad 3G in to a Wi-Fi iPad

Steps -

Turn on your iPad. (Ok I know this one is obvious but I still have to include it)
Go to the “Home” screen on your iPad.
Tap “Settings” –> Then tap “Cellular Data”
Change the selection that says “Cellular Data” to “Off” (3G service is now off)
At this point, The iPad should automatically detect wireless networks (as long as you are somewhere that has Wi-Fi, so yes make sure you are in a Wi-Fi area)

-> If your Wi-Fi (or the Wi-Fi in the area you are in) is secure, You may be asked to type in a username and password to connect, depending on the network security settings. .

6. That’s it, you should now be able to use your iPad with only Wi-Fi

Additional Notes -

You may see random values displayed for Cellular Data in the General Settings when after you turn off cellular data. If you do you can ignore it. These numbers do not represent any real data being transferred (At the moment cant really explain why the numbers appear)
Also Keep in mind these changes don’t have to be permanent, its just a matter if contacting your iPad provider and getting a data plan from them, then turning the Cellular Data back on to get your iPad back on a 3G data plan

How to check a shortened URL to see if it’s safe to click (From Tech and Life)

The following post comes from the Tech and Life blog (A friend of TGM) (LINK) http://www.techandlife.com/ (http://www NULL.techandlife NULL.com/). With the limitation of characters that you can use on Facebook and Twitter, one of the popular choices is the shorten the links you share. The problem is that by shorting links, it makes it harder to tell what are good links and what are links that you should avoid. The original post for this story can be found at (LINK) http://www.techandlife.com/2011/08/how-to-check-a-shortened-url-to-see-if-its-safe-to-click/ (http://www NULL.techandlife NULL.com/2011/08/how-to-check-a-shortened-url-to-see-if-its-safe-to-click/).

Unshorten URL (http://www NULL.techandlife NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Unshorten-URL NULL.jpg)

Yesterday I received email notification of a blog comment which I should check was spam and approve or trash. It looked like spam – a couple of words and a shortened URL. But was the link important or interesting? I was a little wary and knew that this could be a security risk, i.e. don’t click a link if you’re not sure where it’s leading or you don’t know the sender. If you come across a shortened URL on Twitter, you can hover your mouse over it and the full URL will often appear – but not always. So what can you do to check out a shortened URL before you click?

Unshorten the link

Paste the link into unfwd4.me (http://unfwd4 NULL.me/) or unshorten.com (http://unshorten NULL.com/) to see the full URL. You may then be able to decide if the link is reputable and worth following. Still unsure? Try the link scanners mentioned below.

Scan the link

Copy the shortened URL into LinkScanner Online (http://linkscanner NULL.explabs NULL.com/linkscanner/default NULL.aspx) or Online Link Scan (http://onlinelinkscan NULL.com/). They’ll scan the site and alert you if there may be a problem following the link. Or if you have time and want to try multiple antivirus engines, try the scanner at URLVoid (http://vscan NULL.urlvoid NULL.com/).

After you click the link

After you’ve decided to click, browser plugins like McAfee SiteAdvisor (http://www NULL.siteadvisor NULL.com/) and WOT (http://www NULL.mywot NULL.com/en/download) (Web of Trust) provide another tool you can use to alert you of known dubious or untrusted sites. I use McAfee and have found it to be fine. There are free and paid versions. The download link to the free limited version (SiteAdvisor) is currently at the bottom of their Downloads page. Web of Trust is also highly regarded in this fight against ‘clickjacking’ and avoiding malicious sites.

How To: Acer Iconia 500 (with Gingerbread) Root

I just became the owner of an Acer Iconia 500.

Specs:

1GHz Tegra
1GB RAM
16GB storage (upgradeable to 32GB)
1280×800 LCD screen
2MP and 5MP front and rear-facing cameras (respectively)
built-in HDMI port
Six-Axis motion sensing gyro meter
Android Version 3.1
Kernel Version 2.6.36.3

As an Android user (HTC EVO 4G) one of the 1st things I’m used to is rooting my Android devices. There are many reasons to root, and for me the biggest reason to want to root my new toy involves being able to install Titanium Backup Root (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/app/titanium-backup-%E2%98%85-root/com NULL.keramidas NULL.TitaniumBackup), which (in my opinion) is the best backup software you can use on any Android hardware.

So I started searching for information online from anyone who had steps for the Iconia root. There were many posts, but all of them has steps for the Iconia with Android 3.0, and they didn’t work with 3.1. Finally I came across a post from sc2k (http://forum NULL.xda-developers NULL.com/member NULL.php?u=3377374)on the XDA forum with the simplest steps I’ve ever seen to root any device.

I need to add the following disclaimer. Rooting (Jailbreaking) has its risks. While rooting is easy to accomplish on the Iconia Tablet, it is worth noting that you could potentially break your device and/or void your warranty. Please make sure you read and follow these directions carefully. You root at your own risk.

The complete XDA Developers post and root download tool can be found at (LINK) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228 (http://forum NULL.xda-developers NULL.com/showthread NULL.php?t=1138228)

You will find a couple of versions of the tool, I used iconiaroot 1.3.apk (which as of 7/28/11 is the latest version).

How to root
1. Goto Settings->Applications and enable "Unknown sources"
2. Download the attached APK file
3. Copy the file to your Iconia
4. Install the APK & start the tool
5. Click "root"
6. Enjoy

How to unroot
1. Start the tool & click "unroot"

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