WARNING: Conflicker Tomorrow (April 1) No Fooling

I think this has been said enough “ITS COMING”, the latest version of Conflicker is expected to start whatever it is that it is supposed to do, tomorrow (As of now I’m not aware of anyone really knowing what its going to do?) so you need to update your systems NOW. Ok let me say it 1 more time “UPDATE NOW”!

The reason computer attacks (and that’s what they are), get as big as they do, is because people don’t do what they are supposed to. Imagine everyday cars breaking down all around you, why because those owners never bothered to change their own oil or to take the car to a professional (if they didn’t know what they were doing) and getting the oil changed. Well that’s what is currently happening with computers. A computer is not a TV folks, you cant just click it on use it and click it off. A computer is like a car, you need to give your computer tune up’s, “oil” changes, check under the hood. A rule I understood early into my geek career is that “90% of all pc issues occur between the keyboard and the chair”.

As a reminder if I haven’t made it clear yet “UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM NOW!” Let me give you links and a quick how to as to how you can minimize the risk to your computer. I’m not going to tell you that this is 100% full proof, consider it like the seat belts in your car, you never expect to get into a car, but when you do, aren’t you glad you put the belt on.

To help minimize your risks…..

In all Windows operating systems up to Windows XP (Get online and) go to

windowsupdate.Microsoft.com/ which is the Windows update website. From there you will see 2 choices express and custom. If you choose express you will get the choice of updates that Microsoft has created to improve or secure your system. If you choose custom, you will see a list of all files that can be updated on your system. I choose to run custom and make sure i update everything.

If your on Vista or windows 7 all you do is go to start – windowsupdate in the start menu itself and a window will appear automatically telling you what you can choice and then it will download and install automatically.

If you run any software by Microsoft that isn’t the operating system (XP, windows 2000, etc) the you should visit http://update.microsoft.com/ (http://update NULL.microsoft NULL.com/) which will do the same updating, for all other products (office, etc), plus your windows updates all in the same place.

The problem with the software that allowed Conflicker to work, was fixed in Oct 2008. If everyone would have already been upto date, they would have made the back page news not 60 minutes.

**One more thing, if you are unable to access either of the 2 Microsoft sites, then you should check your system as you may already infected you. In that case, you may want to try running the following tools on your pc.

The Microsoft software removal tool – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/downloads/details NULL.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en)

or the free trial version (which does a good job) of Malware bytes to clean your machine http://www.malwarebytes.org/ (http://www NULL.malwarebytes NULL.org/).

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 8

I installed Internet Explorer 8 the day after its release on one of my home machines (“Old Faithful” – P4 2.5Ghz Processor with 1 gig of memory) to see what it could do. I will say that it did everything the press release on it said I would get. It ran faster, took less of my resources from my pc, acted more secure, however, one of the major programs that I run on “Old Faithful” would not work. It’s a proprietary program that allows me to monitor a number of my clients sites remotely 24/7. The new IE8 security changes for some reason (still being investigated by the program developer) will not allow their program to run properly. So i have had to for the time being uninstall IE8, until we can get the situation resolved. The uninstall is not difficult but since its a little different then the normal uninstall in windows I figured i would write out some simple directions for those who also have a need to uninstall……

The uninstall process

1) Go to the Microsoft site http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700 (http://support NULL.microsoft NULL.com/kb/957700)

In the middle of the page you will see an icon that says “Microsoft Fix It”, click on the icon.
You will see a File download box appear asking you if you want to Run – Save – Cancel a program called UninstallIE8.msi. If your on the machine that has IE8 just click Run. If your downloading it so that you can uninstall IE8 on a different machine click save and save the file to a USB or other Portable drive. The file is 115k which means it will fit on a floppy (If anyone even remembers what those are!)
Once you hit run on the download (or double click the file if you are using the saved file) you will see a window that says Internet Explorer – Security Warning and a Run and Don’t Run box. Click on Run –
The next window “Welcome to the Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 Wizard” select that you agree (If you didn’t agree then you probably wouldn’t be trying to do this.) and Next

The next window “Confirm Installation” (Again, if your didn’t want to do this would you be doing this?) click on Next.
The next window just show you the progress of the uninstall. Just wait….on my machine it took about 4 minutes to complete (Yes I know its a slow machine)
The next window you will see the “Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 has been processed” just click on close.
Finally you will be asked for a restart. Make sure your files are saved and closed and hit restart. That’s it…

Microsoft – “the Ultimate Steal” (And its not what you think!)

I know the title of this article could be taken in many different ways (Not all of which would be legal), but this story is not about any of those. Microsoft is lending a hand to students, by offering a number of their software products for what I can only call “A Steal”. Its kind of strange why Microsoft, with all its efforts to fight piracy, would call anything to do with their software “steal” but that’s why I’m a geek and not in marketing!

Using the following Microsoft link http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default NULL.aspx) students can purchase any of the following

Microsoft Office Ultimate Edition 2007 – $59.95

Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade (Note that this one is the Upgrade) – $64.95

Microsoft Visio Professional 2007 – $55.95

In all 3 cases that’s over 90% off the normal price. Of course they have some rules as to who can buy the software at those prices (Complete rules can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/terms.aspx (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/terms NULL.aspx)) but from what I can see if you have an email address that ends in .EDU then you are pretty much covered (That’s my opinion, as always I suggest that each person check the rules themselves, your interpretation could be different than mine.) There are additional options for students who do not have the .EDU email, from the Microsoft website:

——————————————————————————————————–

Promotion Eligibility:
This offer is good only to eligible students who attend an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. One of each product may be purchased per eligible student (but not required).
The following conditions serve to define student eligibility for the Promotion:

1. .edu: Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; OR
Pre-Approved School List: Enrolled in a U.S. educational institution included on the pre-approved school list (http://store NULL.digitalriver NULL.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=ContentTheme&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=msshus&pbPage=schools); OR
Submission of school enrollment: Submit verifiable school enrollment via the validation process (http://ms NULL.bluehornet NULL.com/surveys/submit_my_id/en_us); AND
2. Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

Microsoft or an appointed vendor may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the difference between what you paid and the estimated retail price of the software.
Microsoft, in their sole discretion, may accept other forms of validation to determine eligibility in lieu of a valid e-mail address when one is not available.

——————————————————————————————————–

Last thought: You may have a few hoops to jump thru but for any student (especially “starving students”), this may be the best “legal” way of getting the latest Microsoft has to offer.

*This offer comes from Microsoft any and all information is based on information found on the Microsoft website. I have no control of any part of this offer, I’m simply informing of the offer.

Are you planning to buy a new PC – Wait!

I know its March, but if a new pc is in your plans and you can wait until June 26th, then I would recommend waiting. Based on information that the TECHARP website (http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=609&pgno=1 (http://www NULL.techarp NULL.com/showarticle NULL.aspx?artno=609&pgno=1)) has come up with Microsoft has released info on their upgrade plans for Windows 7. The information shows that PC’s purchased on or after June 26, 2009, with Vista and qualifying software (which normally means specific configurations) will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 (Once Windows 7 is released).

What this means for users is that you wont make your pc purchase and then have to make an additional purchase to stay up to date with the latest offering. In my day to day use of Windows 7 (the beta version released earlier this year), this next version of windows is a major improvement over any of the previous or current Microsoft operating systems.

And More – Oh Boy

As a tech, when you go onsite you are never sure as to what you will find. During a recent site visit to a client, I discovered a “Small” pet that walked out to greet me! Let me tell you I was not ready for this one. Its not a fear thing, its more along the lines of “#%$%^^%”.

I honestly was thinking it was a chew toy or something for a pet. I got within 6 or 7 inches then figured out it wasn’t. As a multi-skilled tech, I was the person who helped Jerry (What else was I going to call him) out of the office. Just another day – Just another adventure.

Online Virus Scanners

Some virus and spyware infections (the really nasty ones) will uninstall or break your installed Antivirus/Anti-spyware software. When that happens you will still need to scan your system. You have a couple of sites that offer FREE online scans of your pc, and depending on the infection, could also remove the problem from your machine.

CA Virus Scanner http://www.ca.com/us/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx (http://www NULL.ca NULL.com/us/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan NULL.aspx)

Trend Micro Housecall http://housecall.trendmicro.com/us/index.html (http://housecall NULL.trendmicro NULL.com/us/index NULL.html)

Something to keep in mind is that these sites should be easily accessible. If your internet is working but when you attempt to access either of these sites your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera) says that the site cant be viewed or closes by itself or pops up a lot of other pages other than the one your trying to get to could also be a sign that your infected.

In most all cases to properly clean infection off a computer, the computer should be started in “safe mode with networking”. For those who don’t know how to do that, as soon as you start your computer you start pressing the F6 key (ya those keys your never use on the top of your keyboard), and you will see a message with a few choices one of which is “safe mode with networking”. If you see your opening windows screen (the one that says Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista) without seeing the choices then you didn’t press F6 fast enough. Let the computer boot up then reboot and try again.

Tracking Airline Flights

There is many a time I’ve been stuck at an airport and kept being told that we had a 20-min or 30-min delay over and over again. Using the following flight tracker sites helped me figure out what the true delay was. I seems that gate agents are afraid at times to tell a “plane full of people” where their plane is, or that communication just doesn’t make it down to the agent. I’m sitting at Midway waiting for a flight and get told it will be 30 min, to then look online and see the plane that I’m waiting for is still on the ground in Baltimore. You should see the look on the gate agents faces when i point that out, talk about priceless. At least if you know where your plane truly is, you can adjust your planes at your destination.

FlyteComm http://www.flytecomm.com/cgi-bin/trackflight (http://www NULL.flytecomm NULL.com/cgi-bin/trackflight)

Flight Explorer http://travel.flightexplorer.com/trackFlight.aspx?fid=more (http://travel NULL.flightexplorer NULL.com/trackFlight NULL.aspx?fid=more)

(http://www NULL.flytecomm NULL.com/cgi-bin/trackflight)

Warning: Conficker.C is coming – April 1

Conficker (also know as Downup, Downadup, and Kido) is a computer work that goes after computers running Microsoft Windows. This worm affects computers running Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, and even the new Windows 7 Beta software.

The worm which has a number of variations appears to have a new version that is expected as of April 1. The worm which will be able to block access to security related sites (like Symantec.com or Trendmicro.com) and it will also stop/or break security software (anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall) that is loaded on the pc. Once the pc is infected it becomes very difficult to make the pc clean again. The worm will also go out and download/install additional malware on the pc. Some of the effects seen in the past are

- a slow pc

- pop ups advertising fake virus cleaning tools

- pop ups advertising “adult” subjects

- websites appear that are not the ones typed in by the user

Here are some of the services that the worm disables if you see these disabled and you didn’t do it, you will want to check your system

wscsvc – Security Center
WinDefend Windows Defender (available in Vista)
wuauserv – Automatic Updates
BITS – Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ERSvc – Error Reporting Service
WerSvc – Windows Error Reporting Service (available in Vista)

additionally the worm removes Restore Points in windows and removes the Windows Security center. If the following registry entry is missing, you could be infected: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\ShellServiceObjects\{FD6905CE-952F-41F1-9A6F-135D9C6622CC}

A fix for this worm was released by Microsoft in 2008, it is highly recommended that you make sure that all you computers are updated and have all windows updates installed.

Information sources come from

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Conficker)

Tech Fragments website – http://techfragments.com/news/629/Software/Downadup_Win32Conficker-C_Worm_Revving_Up_to_Spread.html (http://techfragments NULL.com/news/629/Software/Downadup_Win32Conficker-C_Worm_Revving_Up_to_Spread NULL.html)

Happy Birthday WWW – Turning 20

On March 13, 1989 a man by the name of Tim Berners–Lee had an idea. He presented his idea in a paper called “Information Management: A Proposal”. His paper turned out to become the World Wide Web. With a smile I say Thank you to Mr. Berners-Lee and Happy Birthday World wide web.

Hardware Recommendation: External USB/eSATA Hard Drive Doc Station (Cheap)

Here is something that was pointed out to me by a co-worker, who will receive the full credit as this was his find now mine (and he knows who he is and I thank him for showing me this one). The Nexstar USB or eSATA external hard drive dock, which will once connected to your pc allow you to connect any pc hard drive (Something from the store or one that was removed from your pc because you got a bigger one) to your pc and it will show as a drive letter on your pc. Now you can store anything you need and be able to swap drives while the pc is running. I saw this weekend where terabyte drives were under $100 dollars. With this drive $79.99 plus two terabyte drives ($200) you can have 2000 gigs worth of hard drive space. Currently I have almost 3000 songs in 30 gigs so if i do the math about right 2000 gigs would hold about 300,000 songs……(are there actually that many songs in the world?) and please don’t hold me to exact math…its after midnight when i write this. However , this would be cool no matter how the math worked out. Anyone seeing this want to get me a gift for my Birthday here it is. From the Thinkgeek.com website – http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/drives/a7ea/ (http://www NULL.thinkgeek NULL.com/computing/drives/a7ea/)

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