Spammers and hackers today are very sophisticated when it comes to covering their tracks. Instead of sending spam or using their own computers to attack an orginization or individual they now employee Botnets.

 A Botnet is a collection of computers (that have been hacked and taken over) which a remote user can use to execute operations such as spam, DOS attacks and other types of mailicious activities.

To quote another article I recently read: “Joe St. Sauver, manager of security programs at the Internet2 networking consortium and the University of Oregon, said there are 5 million to 5.5 million botnets in active rotation at any time.”

Article: Botnets Running Rampant Neal Weinberg, Network World care of PC World

The best way to help prevent this from occuring for an end user is to keep your operating system up to date; Always have an updated virus software running (with a scheduled scan enabled weekly); Employee a good firewall.

I understand many of the computers that are part of Botnets are generally not an end user machines, but rather machines hosted in a public environment such as libraries, campuses and other public domains. Is there no IT staff available to monitor these networks?

Generally speaking the case is that the IT department is so understaffed, overworked, and under budgeted they simply don’t have the time or the money to implement the proper equipment which can detect and prevent this from occuring. That is if they have an IT department at all.

Look…We all know how to prevent most of this from occuring. I am by no means saying it will ever stop, because anything that can be secured can be hacked (it’s all a matter of time), but lets atleast try to secure our own computers.

If you would like more information on how you can secure your computer please follow this link to a previous article over best security practices I previously wrote. I hope it helps.

Microsoft recently (At the end of February) released a patch to fix issues with one of the Windows Vista installation software features.

When installed the patch (ID number 937287 which is still available for download) causes some systems to continually reboot themselves in an un-ending loop.

Of course who would have ever thought that Microsoft wouldn’t get it right? Microsoft stated the problem seems to only affect “a small number” of the more than 100 million Vista users. In my opinion thats still to many (especially if you are one of the affected users).

Do not threat though! Microsoft is offering assistance with this issue. Of course the contact information isn’t posted on the front page of the main web site so I figured I would offer it here for anyone who may need it.

Please if you know anyone affected by this issue pass the following information to them. Microsoft is offering assistance at the following toll free number 866/727-2338.

Just another reason to wait on installing those wonderful Microsoft updates.

  Microsoft is currently addressing newly discovered holes in the security of their Vista and xp operating systems. Most importantly a security vulnerability in Windows Vista and XP that could expose a computer to an early-season bite while you are connected to the Internet.

How it works is a hacker can broadcast rogue TCP/IP packets to any range of IP addresses. The rogue packets have the ability to circumvent Windows’ security and hijack a computer turning that computer into part of a Bot net. Bot nets are designed for spamming as well as launching self replicating worms and even worse ICMP attacks which can shut down servers.

Currently there have been no attacks using this vulnerability. Microsoft scrambled to make available a patch to secure this hole and it is currently available using the link below. The patch may already be applied to your system if automatic updates are turned on.

Click Here for The Microsoft Security Patch

I recently experienced an issue with QuickTime playing sound in my self created movies. I reviewed all the data concerning my videos to see if I could identify something unique about the videos or the player. After a few hours I noticed all of the movies that did not have sound were encoded with the Qualcomm Purevoice codec.

I researched intensely on QuickTimes website with no luck. I even spent fourty minutes on the phone with a QuickTime support technician only to have him tell me I would have to go and find a copy of the codec (which is no longer supported by the company) and install it. He stated specifically that it was not an issue with QuickTime. Despite me arguing about the fact that it worked previously he would not be swayed.

I decided to search deeper. In reviewing the QuickTime application logs I noticed I had received an upgrade recently. Shazaaaam! Maybe I had a direction to go with. Now I just had to figure out what my previous version was.

I discovered that my previous version of QuickTime was 7.1.6 so of course I went on an intensive search to find an installer. Once I located and installed the older version of QuickTime and after restarting of course; I once again had sound in my videos.

After curing my issue I contacted Apple again. I used my ticket number to contact the same technician and told him I had discovered the issue. As I explained to him that apparently either the codec or the ability of QuickTime to understand this codec had been removed from the QuickTime version 7.3 that I had installed. I told him if he would like I would be more than happy to tell him a work around for it, that I was sure with all of the forum questions on this same issue he would probably make many Apple customers happy.

This part just floored me, believe it or not I was told if I would like to go post it in there forums I could. What a crock (I thought) he wasn’t willing to help out his own customers by posting the information in a TID. It took me a few seconds to calm down (which I did), I told him why would I volunteer my time for a job that he is supposed to do? So I calmly explained that I’m sure this information would generate traffic on a website so I would just put it on one of our company websites.

Of course none of this even phased him. Apple is always talking about how there market share is increasing, maybe with all that new money they can hire some courteous technicians who actually desire to do their job by helping people.

Bottom line if you have any videos that do not play sound after upgrading your version of QuickTime, you might check to see what codec was used for the audio. If the audio was encoded with the Qualcomm Pure voice codec then a simple work around is to install QuickTime version 7.1.6.

I am unsure if the new 7.4 versions have a fix for this issue, but from the response I got from Apples’ technician it wasn’t like they were going to change anything. With this in mind I have not tried the latest versions to see if the codec is played in them. I use this codec all the time for older training videos and I am unwilling to change from a version which I know works to a version that may not.

You know the kind I’m talking about: they’re not life threatening to your PC, but at the same time they are infuriating in that they are a constant source of bother and wasted time, leading you to loss of focus, lost productivity and a generally sour frame of mind. Here are seven ways to make your computing life ever so much easier, and they’re easy fixes as well!

The Dang Things Starts Up SO Slow! - I’m sure you’ve experienced this one, if you owned a computer for any length of time. You’re sitting there, and sitting there, and sitting there, and finally it crawls open, all the while leaving you wondering about the magic of computers! More than likely the problem lies in the amount of programs demanding access at the
moment you start up Many times when you’ve downloaded new software or computer programs, they automatically are set to open at the startup of your PC.

In fact there are also a bunch of programs that your computer wants to open that aren’t really necessary. You can delete and limit the number of these resource hogging programs and get your startup much more vibrant by clicking Start, Run and type in msconfig, and this will display all the programs that are set to open at startup. You can then uncheck the ones you don’t want.

Make sure you do this one by one with a notepad nearby, as many of these programs are necessary to run your computer, and if you make a boo boo you’ll be able to go back and recheck it.

You Don’t Like The View - You sit at your computer for hours, and there’s just something about the way it looks. Not a problem; we can change this! Start by right-clicking on the desktop, then click Properties in XP, or Personalize in Vista, and then Settings, and you’ll be presented with many ways in which you can change the screen properties. I mean, if you have to look at it all day you may as well like what you’re looking at.

Your Printer Has Gone Haywire - It just won’t stop printing out either old print jobs or ones that were not cleared from the queue. First try turning off the printer and see if this doesn’t do the trick, and if that doesn’t work, go to your printers menu in the Start menu and delete anything you see let there, assuming of course you no longer want it to print. If this doesn’t solve your problem, then you may be forced to download and reinstall drivers for your particular printer.

My Videos Are Now Mute Or Invisible - If the videos are now playing without sound or even worse, without picture or both, then it may well be that the codecs are out of date. There are several places where you can get free updates. DO a search for K-Lite Codec Pack for a nice easy fix. Also, before you go to that length, check and see that you didn’t accidentally hit your keyboard’s mute button! (Speaking from experience!)

You Accidentally Broke A Key Off Your Keyboard - Okay, I won’t ask how this happened, or just what you were so angry at that you slammed your fist down onto it, but you need to know this can be an easy fix. If you happen to have an old keyboard lying around, it’s possible to salvage a good key with an intact key mechanism that you can swap out for the damaged one.

If you are unsure how to do this, do a search for “keycap replacement”, and you should find some good help. It’s fairly simple. If the entire keyboard needs replacing, you’re still in luck: keyboards are some of the cheapest things to replace on your PC. If it’s your laptop that needs a new keyboard, try eBay for good replacement keyboards for laptops, and search out instructions for this as well.

Your Wi-Fi is Now Slow-Fi - Another trial of your so far interminable patience, assuming that you are not a victim of a general network outage, you more than likely have come up against some rather stiff interference. Sometimes your phones router, (If you have one installed , as I do) can be the culprit, sending confusion into your otherwise well designed network. (As it did mine!) Make sure you have the connections in the proper order, as per manufacturers instructions, and you should have no further problem.

Interference can also come from the likes of a microwave oven, cordless phone, or many other types of electronic devices. You may end up having to change the channel to one less populated on your router by taking a peek into your routers config page, and try another channel, most commonly 1, 6, or 11.

You Keep Getting Messages About Your Memory - And no, I’m not talking about YOUR memory, as that is beyond the scope of this article. However the memory on your machine is something you can take steps to improve. If you find yourself constantly getting system messages regarding your system’s memory capacity, or your computer is unusually slow, you may want to look into this. It may be a bad section of RAM, or you may simply need more. Run a memory test; there are several free ones available, and see if boosting your memory might not clear things up and speed it along quite nicely.

While most of these annoying problems won’t necessarily sink your ship, they are a bothersome interference in your computing experience, and you don’t have to put up with them. This list is by no means comprehensive, and you may have demons of your own that bug you to no end, and you have my sympathy. (I find new ones everyday!) These fixes, along with sound general maintenance should keep you from tearing out your hair every time you sit down to use your computer!

Did you know that all Bug Doctor members get unlimited tech support for any computer problems they have? You can get help for anything from outlook express errors, to internet problems, word errors and anything else computer related. Download a free trial of the bug doctor now

Does anyone else find it hard to pick up work after vacationing? Having completed a weeks worth of vacation I am back to the grind….well….sort of.

I am using this day to read up on new stories and technologies for new content on the site. Please bare with me while I compose myself and get my head out of the vacation cloud. Of course this is not easily done…

As you can see from the last post we are now taking posted questions to better serve our users. As well I would like to add if there is a new technology or concern you would like for me to address please post a comment to this blog. I would be happy to research and address topics for our users.

After all….It is you the end user for which we create the content.

In the old days PC911 had a forum where you could post questions and answers to. Now that we have this fancy new fangled blog technology I would like to ask you to post your tech support questions here and we will address them.

A lot of people have asked for the forums back but we would prefer to use this blog as a means to help you with your computer problems. Post your question as a comment below and we will help you. It’s that simple.

Having problems with Windows Vista?

Windows Vista has a unique feature embedded in the operating system. This feature is the Reliability and Performance monitor. If for any reason you are experiencing difficulties with Vista or a third party program that is installed this utility can be used to help identify the source of the issue.

The Reliability and Performance Monitor is a Microsoft Management Console snap-in that includes tools for analyzing system performance. You can monitor hardware and application performance in real time. Also available is the ability to customize what data you want to collect. You can define custom triggers for alerts, automatic actions, generate reports, and view past performance data.

The Reliability and Performance Monitor combines many functions of previous stand-alone tools such as Performance Logs and Alerts, Server Performance Adviser, and System Monitor. It provides a graphical user interface for the customization of Data Collector Sets and Event Trace Sessions.

Reliability and Performance Monitor contains three monitoring tools to aid you in determining a root cause of performance issues such as Resource View, Performance Monitor, and Reliability Monitor. Data collection and logging is performed using Data Collector Sets which must be defined to capture any required information.

Reliability and Performance monitor will be a useful utility for identify issues that may slow performance or cause instability.

Having acquired years of experience with windows and how well it performs (or not) I can assure you it will be in my arsenal of diagnostic utilities for Vista.

We all know what a hassle it can be when your computer enters hibernation mode. Many times you can experience blue screens when you attempt to launch your PC from hibernation mode. This is really a pain if you had unsaved data.

 With the release of Vista they have removed the ability from the power options control panel to disable hibernation mode. No where in the control panel will you find an option to disable hibernation mode. It is so nice of Microsoft to remove the abilityto disable this feature considering all the past problems it has caused

Don’t worry though…..there is a simple way to turn off this feature.

Instructions for disabling Hibernation mode:

1. Press the WINDOWS key and type cmd into the Start Search box but DO NOT press ENTER

2. Right-click on cmd in the Programs list  when it appears and select Run As Administrator

3. Click Continue when the UAC prompt appears

4. Type powercfg -h off and press ENTER

You have now disabled Hibernation mode in Vista. You should not experience any of the annoying errors normally experienced from this mode activating. Happy computing!

Recently I discovered an issue where I had duplicate files on my computer. These were mainly document files. Somewhere in the confusion I was updating the wrong documents. This caused me to lose some very important documentation.

I had noticed that there were three different locations I was storing backups of the original documents. At some point while editing these documents I had opened a secondary location. In my confusion I had updated a backup file which was later deleted as I thought it was an older back up file. This caused a huge problem.

I had to re-write several articles(mostly from memory) which was very time consuming. My energies would have been better focused somewhere else to say the least.

I was determined this would not happen again. I attempted to locate all the duplicate files myself at first. If you have ever attempted doing this then you understand how time consuming this operation can be.

This process entails searching for all .doc files. Once the files are located they have to be reviewed for which contains the most recent data. Once you know which article is the most recent you then have to delete the older file. Once you have a current copy of the file if it is not located in “my documents” or your specified folder it then has to be moved to this location.

When dealing with approximately one hundred documents you can imagine how much time was spent on this project. I was determined to find a better way of removing these duplicate files.

I resolved this issue mainly by changing the default save in location for documents in the word processing software I used. This helped in a big way.

The second option I implemented was to use a good backup software which can do incremental backups. This means it only backups files to your designated backup location that have changed since your last backup.

lets hope you never have to experience this, but if you do I hope my resolution might help. It would be better used as a preventative measure if implemented prior to this happening on your own system.

Be sure when using a back up that you save your data to a remote location such as a removable drive. Implementing this backup strategy is better in the sense if you have a computer failure you will still have access to your backup data.