How to boot in Safe Mode

Posted by Andy on December 01, 2009
Anti-Virus, Tech Tips, Windows / Comments Off on How to boot in Safe Mode

If you are fighting a virus/malware on your computer, it is best to boot in safe mode before you start removing things and running scans.  If you don’t, it is likely that the malware will likely just re-install itself.  I’m not going to go into a whole tutorial on virus fighting (maybe in a future post) but the basics are as follows:

1) As soon as you notice you are infected, unplug your internet connection or turn off your wireless.  This will prevent the infection from spreading, and will isolate the offending program from its source.

2) Boot into Safe Mode

3) Run your favorite antivirus/anti-malware program.

This post is really about Safe Mode – how do you get there?  There are a couple of ways depending on the operating system you are using.  Here’s the Microsoft Page on the topic.

Windows XP

If XP is the only operating system installed on your computer, boot into Safe Mode with these instructions.

  • If the computer is running, shut down Windows, and then turn off the power
  • Wait 30 seconds, and then turn the computer on.
  • Start tapping the F8 key. The Windows Advanced Options Menu appears. If you begin tapping the F8 key too soon, some computers display a “keyboard error” message.  If this happens, resstart the computer and try again.
  • Ensure that the Safe mode option is selected.  If you are trying to clean a machine that is virus laden, choose Safe Mode Without Networking.
  • Press Enter. The computer then begins to start in Safe mode.
  • When you are finished with all troubleshooting, close all programs and restart the computer as you normally would.

If you don’t want to bother with function keys, you can use the System Configuration Utility method.

  • Close all open programs.
  • Click Start, Run and type MSCONFIG in the box and click OK
  • The System Configuration Utility appears, On the BOOT.INI tab, Check the “/SAFEBOOT” option, and then click OK and Restart your computer when prompted.
  • The computer restarts in Safe mode.
  • Perform the troubleshooting steps for which you are using Safe Mode.
  • When you are finished with troubleshooting in Safe mode, open MSCONFIG again, on the BOOT.INI tab,  uncheck “/SAFEBOOT” and click OK to restart your computer.  THIS STEP IS CRITICAL.  If you don’t change this back, then the computer will continue to boot in Safe Mode until you do.

Windows 7

Safe Mode in Windows 7 is basically the same as XP – use F8 to get to the Safe Mode startup screen.  MSCONFIG is slightly different – Safe Mode is called Safe Boot, but otherwise the process is the same.

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Windows 7 RELEASED – Why you should upgrade

Posted by Andy on October 25, 2009
Uncategorized / Comments Off on Windows 7 RELEASED – Why you should upgrade

I’m very happy with Windows 7 these days.  I still have a couple of XP systems in the house, but they will be upgraded soon.  XP is a fine operating system, but it is just outdated at this point, and the advantages of Windows 7 are compelling.

First, a couple of cautions.

1) Moving from XP to Windows 7 is not an upgrade, it is a migration.  That means that when you install Windows 7, and data on the machine will be wiped out.  Microsoft provides a migration utility, Windows Easy Transfer for this, but you may be better off transferring your files yourself.  Also remember that all applications will have to be re-installed and re-configured.  This couple be a royal pain if you’ve never done it before.  Please be careful here, and if you need assistance or have questions on how to get help with something like this, drop me a note or leave a comment.

Note that if you are a Vista user, then you can just upgrade and all of your data and applications will remain intact.  I would still back everything up to be sure that nothing is lost, but the upgrade path is pretty quick and easy from Vista to Windows 7.

How do you know if your machine can handle the upgrade?  A simple rule of thumb is that if your machine is 5 or more years old, stay with the operating system you have unless you are sure the machine can handle it.  Microsoft also provides an “upgrade advisor” here that will tell you if your machine meets the specs for Win 7.  At the end of the day, it’s a judgement call.  If you are at all unsure, don’t do it, stay with what you have.  The last thing you want to do is to migrate then find out your machine runs like paste. 

Oh, and here is the Windows Upgrase and Migration page

So here are my reasons for upgrading.

1) Faster boot time, faster recovery from sleeping.  If this were the only advantage, I think I’d do it just for this.  The difference in boot times from XP to 7 is just staggering.  I havent’ put a stop watch to it, but I feel like 7 is probably faster to boot by a least 2 minutes.  I will time it and post resuts.

2) Better UI – so many things about the UI that I really like.  Hot keys to maximize and dock windows, more intuitve ways to get to applications, hovering over application icons brings up icons of open instances, all of the Aero stuff.

3) Gadgets – Sidebar applications that are really useful – I have a stock ticker, XM radio app, System meter, calendar and clock.  All right there, easy to use.

4) Very fast install time – 15 minutes start to finish.  Try that with XP!

5) Upgraded standard apps like calculater, paint, wordpad, etc.  Not a huge bonus, but nice improvements.

6) Virtual XP mode – you can run older XP applications in a virtual XP environment, side by side with Windows 7 applications.

7) Revamped task and start menus.  Pin to task/start menu, jump lists, etc.  Very useful features.

8) Improvmentets to User Access Control (UAC).  I had this disabled completely in Vista, not so now.  Way less intrusive, and actually helpful.

9) Device Stage has pretty pictures ;)  Management of your devices is much improved, goofy pictures aside. 

10)  Managing WiFi connections is much easier. h

AT&T gives on VoIP over their network

Posted by Andy on October 06, 2009
Uncategorized / Comments Off on AT&T gives on VoIP over their network

Very good news for iPhone users, regardless of AT&T’s motives.  Now you can make VoIP calls (via Skype or whatever client you like) not only over Wi-Fi, but also over AT&T’s network.  I’m sure you’ll get charged for mintues,but you won’t have to deal with their nonsense for international calls.

Interestingly, no more news on Google Voice being approved, but given this news, I expect that to happen soon.  As has been noted, cell phones are not just cell phones anymore, and I’m glad to see the monoliths responding.

Tivo app for Blackberry released

Posted by Andy on September 30, 2009
Blackberry / Comments Off on Tivo app for Blackberry released

Research In Motion (RIMM) announced the release of Tivo for Blackberry, and application that allows you to view and schedule shows on your Tivo from a Blackberry mobile device.  According to RIMM:

With TiVo® for BlackBerry® smartphones you can wirelessly access your channel listings and program your favorite shows while on the go with the familiar TiVo look, feel and features that you’ve come to enjoy at home. Whether you’re working late or stuck in commute on your way home from the office, you can quickly and easily search by title, keyword or actor for what you like to watch—maybe it’s the latest news, a season finale, or a movie. Your BlackBerry smartphone functions just like a remote control, so you can also browse by category, popular shows, daily picks and more. Plus, you can add the show to your calendar to remind you when your favorite show is on. And together with a bright crisp screen, easy-to-navigate menu, shortcut keys and more, your BlackBerry smartphone makes scheduling recordings a whole lot easier.

This is great news for Blackberry users and another example of the influx of apps for Blackberry.  They have a long way to catch up with the iPhone, but the increasing number of released apps is good to see.

Windows Security Essentials – worth it?

Posted by Andy on September 29, 2009
Security, Tech Tips, Windows / Comments Off on Windows Security Essentials – worth it?

I think so – especially for home and small business users.  What is it?  MSE or Microsoft Security Essentials is MSFT’s free antivirus software (previously, this was Windows Forefront) for home users.  It’s not enterprise class since it has no consolidated reporting or node management software, but is great for homes and small businesses.  It’s free – did I mention that?

I’ve put this on a Windows 7 laptop and have only had a couple of days to evaluate it, but so far it is very nice.  Low on resources, unobtrusive, and thorough.  Oh, and it passed the August VB tests.  I don’t subscribe to the VB reports, but you can register for free here and see the VB100 results.  This is a list of Anti-Virus vendors that pass a series of tests designed by Virus Bulletin to see how well the protect your computer.  The VB100 logo is a certification that the software does what it is supposed to do.

I’m a big fan of anything that adds hassle free virus protection for people, and I hope this is packaged with Windows soon.  I know that will create all kinds of licensing issues with the AV vendors who have third party deals with resellers to package their software with Windows, but I think people need AV protection and it should be free.  Especially from Microsoft, since IE and Windows are such huge sources/targets for the virus writers, Microsoft has an obligation to provide free and comprehensive virus protection, and I’m very pleased that they are stepping up to the plate.

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10 Blackberry tips you may not know

Posted by Andy on September 17, 2009
Blackberry, Tech Tips / Comments Off on 10 Blackberry tips you may not know

By popular demand, here are 10 Blackberry tips that are somewhat obscure.

1) Change the signal strength indicator from bars to numbers. Rather than looking at signal bars, you can change the coverage indicator to show ‘signal strength’ in digital (dBm) format. While at the home (icon) screen, hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL. The bars change to digital mode. A lower number is better, and anything between -90 to -50 dBm is good. To get the signal bars back, repeat the process: hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL.

2) Email Address shortcut. When typing in an Email field, press the SPACE key to insert the “@” and “.” (period). e.g. Type:  john <space> xyz <space> com  to create:  john@xyz.com.  Backspace and type again to over-ride this like you would with AutoText

3) Bunch of Calendar tips (From Calendar screen, click Menu key & choose Options, then General Options. Change ‘Enable Quick Entry’ to NO.)

Press T to go to “Today” in the Calendar screen.
Press N or Space to go to Next (day, week or month, depending on the view you are in).
Press P to go to Previous: (day, week or month, depending on the view you are in).
Click Trackball to create a new entry.
Press A to go to Agenda View.
Press M to go to Monthly View.
Press W to go to Weekly View.
Press D to go to Daily View.
Press G to go to a specific date in the Calendar screen.
  • Press T to go to “Today” in the Calendar screen.
  • Press N or Space to go to Next (day, week or month, depending on the view you are in).
  • Press P to go to Previous: (day, week or month, depending on the view you are in).
  • Click Trackball to create a new entry.
  • Press A to go to Agenda View.
  • Press M to go to Monthly View.
  • Press W to go to Weekly View.
  • Press D to go to Daily View.
  • Press G to go to a specific date in the Calendar screen.

4) Help Me Screen

While holding down the ALT key -AND- the Left Shift key at the same time, press the letter ‘h’. This brings up the “Help Me!” screen that lists detailed device information including software version, pin, IMEI, uptime, signal strength, battery level, file free, and file total.

5) Event Log

Hold down the ALT while you type LGLG. This brings up the event log where you can clear events (frees some memory).

6) Include Phone # or PIN # in a Email Message using AutoText:

In the message body, type the following AutoText entries followed by the spacebar to insert information into a message:

  • mypin – Inserts BlackBerry PIN number.
  • mynumber –  Inserts BlackBerry Phone number.
  • myver – Inserts BlackBerry Model number / Software version.
  • mydcid – Inserts DIRECT CONNECT number (on Sprint/Nextel devices).

7) A bunch of navigation tips:

  • Enter or spacebar: scroll down a page/screen at a time.
  • ALT-Enter: scroll back a page/screen at a time.
  • b: scroll to bottom of page or list.
  • t: scroll to top of page or list.
  • u: jump to closest unread message in a list.
  • n: jump to next message.
  • p: jump to previous message.
  • backspace/delete key: delete previous character while typing or delete message if viewing it in a list.

8) Make notes while on a call

While on a phone call, press Menu key and choose Notes to take notes while on a call. Saved call notes appear in Messages folder as a call log entry, along with your emails.

9) Look up contacts while on a call

While on a call, click the green Send key to open up the phone application and call log. When your call log is on screen, hold down Send again for a couple of seconds until the address book information appears.

10) View URL’s while browsing.

While on a Web page, just click your BlackBerry’s P key at any time to see that specific page’s Web address and title. A dialogue box will then appear asking if you want to copy the address or send it via e-mail, SMS, MMS or PIN message.

To determine the URL of specific links on a Web page, simply scroll over the links so that they’re highlighted, and click the L key. Again, you’ll be prompted with the option to send the address or return to the page from which you came.

Enjoy –

10 Most Common Passwords

Posted by Andy on September 08, 2009
Privacy, Security, Tech Tips / Comments Off on 10 Most Common Passwords

A note on Passwords.  If yours is on the list below, change it now.  Seriously, it’s just not secure. 

In doing some research on this topic, I came across a lot of scary stats.  There was a MySpace exploit not that long ago from which a lot of password data was generated.  Have a look at the write up here.  The gist of the report is that for the most part, people are getting better at using good passwords, but there are significant number of passwords that are easy to guess.  In addition, the article makes the very good point that passwords are just a bad way to secure things because crackers are getting better and better. 

None of this changes the reality that passwords have outlived their usefulness as a serious security device. Over the years, password crackers have been getting faster and faster. Current commercial products can test tens — even hundreds — of millions of passwords per second. At the same time, there’s a maximum complexity to the passwords average people are willing to memorize (.pdf). Those lines crossed years ago, and typical real-world passwords are now software-guessable. AccessData’s Password Recovery Toolkit would have been able to crack 23 percent of the MySpace passwords in 30 minutes, 55 percent in 8 hours.

So, back to the list of passwords – this list is from PC Magazine:

  • password
  • 123456
  • qwerty
  • abc123
  • letmein
  • monkey
  • myspace1
  • password1
  • link182
  • (your first name)

To expand on this list, here are some common password themes (source):

  • 123456, 123, 123123, 01234, 2468, 987654, etc
  • 123abc, abc123, 246abc
  • First Name
  • Favorite Band
  • Favorite Song
  • first letter of given name then surname
  • qwerty, asdf, and other keyboard rolls
  • Favorite cartoon or movie character
  • Favorite sport, or sports star
  • Country of origin
  • City of origin
  • All numbers
  • Some word in the dictionary
  • Combining 2 dictionary words
  • any of the above spelled backwards
  • aaa, eee, llll, 999999, and other repeat combinations

If you recognize you password or your password tendencies on the lists above, change them!  You should always use what are called “Strong” passwords.  Microsoft defines strong passwords as follows:

A strong password:

  • Is at least seven characters long.
  • Does not contain your user name, real name, or company name.
  • Does not contain a complete dictionary word.
  • Is significantly different from previous passwords. Passwords that increment (Password1, Password2, Password3 …) are not strong.
  • Contains characters from each of upper case letters, lower case letters, numerals and symbols (all keyboard characters not defined as letters or numerals)

The best passwords are random – generate it once, remember it forever and you are secure.  PC Tools has a great generator here.  It stinks to have to remember something that is not intuitive, but it’s way better than identity theft.

WPA-TKIP vs WPA-AES

Posted by Andy on September 05, 2009
Security, Windows / Comments Off on WPA-TKIP vs WPA-AES

More on Wireless security.

As I posted recently, WPA is the security method you should be using on your wireless network.  But what flavor?  TKIP? AES?  Well well, if it isn’t more acronyms to confuse the matter.

The short answer is you should be using WPA2-AES.

To understand this we need a short history lesson.  When WPA was released in 2003 to address WEP’s weakness, it was released as a stop gap until the 802.11i standard for encryption was released.  WPA was much better than WEP, and included TKIP or Temporal Key Integrity Protocol.  The main advantage of TKIP is that is changes the encryption key with each data transmission making cracking the key extremely difficult.

WPA2 was released in 2004 and replaces WPA, but is not compatible with older routers and wireless cards.  WPA2 includes AES or Advanced Encryption Standard.  Basically, AES is hardware driven and TKIP is software driven, which is why AES is not compatible with older hardware – they can’t handle the load.  The encryption method for AES, CCMP, is better than TKIP which uses RC4 encryption.  I’m not a security expert and I wont pretend to understand the algorithms, but it is clear that AES with CCMP is more secure than TKIP.

For more information on these topics here are a couple of links:

802.11 Wiki

WI-FI Alliance FAQ

AT&T sets date for MMS over iPhone

Posted by Andy on September 04, 2009
Apple, iPhone, Toys / Comments Off on AT&T sets date for MMS over iPhone

Finally, but do I really care?

AT&T announced yesterday that MMS will be available for US iPhone customers on September 25th.  On that day, a software update will be released that will enable the feature.

What is MMS anyway you ask?  MMS stands for Multimedia Message Service, and is an upgrade to SMS (Short Message Service).  Both are ways to send messages between compatible cell phones.  In short, SMS is text messaging, MMS is the ability to send text, video, pictures, audio clips etc between cell phones.

I’m old enough to have largely missed the text message boom, so I’m not all that excited about this.  That said, the fact that AT&T couldn’t get their act together to coordinate this with the release of the 3GS months ago is borderline criminal.  There are a couple of lawsuits against AT&T regarding the false advertising that went along with the release of the 3GS that I’m sure will go nowhere, but make a good point.  If you are the exclusive vendor for arguably the most popular cell phone in history, you owe it to your handcuffed customers to have your network in order before the phone is released, especially since the phone was heavily advertised as being able to handle MMS.

Good news for MMS users, but an embarrassment for AT&T.

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10 Facebook Privacy Settings you NEED to know.

Posted by Andy on September 02, 2009
Privacy, Security, Social Networking / 3 Comments

I will summarize here, but the full article by Nick O’Neill from www.allfacebook.com is a great read, and something I wish I had written.  Facebook is a great tool, but in a world where information and identity theft is rampant, you need to know how to protect yourself from, well, yourself.

1) Use Friends lists to group your friends into logical groups.  This allows you to grant different access rights to different groups of people.

2) Remove yourself from Facebook search results.  Like the author, my family is chock full of teachers.  For the most part, they don’t want their students to randomly find their personal information from a Facebook search, but still want to be on Facebook for family and friends.  The solution?  Remove yourself from Facebook search results.  You do this from the “search privacy settings” page.

3) Remove your Facebook self from Google search results.  As you know if you Google yourself (doesn’t everyone do this?) your Facebook profile will come up pretty quickly.  You can remove yourself from Google searches from the “search privacy settings” page – uncheck the “Create a Public Search Listing for me …” check box.

4) Control who sees your tagged photos – You can do this from your profile privacy page.  The cool thing is if you’ve set up your friends groups right, you can allow access to tagged photos by group.  That way the photo of you that you don’t want your boss to see won’t get you fired.

5) Control who sees your photo albums – as with tagged photos, not all pictures are for all eyes.  Check out the Photo Privacy Page.  From there you can control who sees what.  Very handy.

6) Control how your relationship status is displayed in news feeds.  Everyone likes to tout their relationship, but do you really want everyone (boss, business contacts) to know?  Uncheck the “Change relationship status” box on the News Feed and Wall section of your Privacy settings.  This will prevent people from seeing changed to your relationship status in their news feeds.

7) Be sure that applications don’t publish embarrassing news feed posts.  Many applications you sign up for post items to your news feed that are potentially embarrassing.  Be sure that you scan your profile every time you install an application, or better yet, avoid applications completely.

8) Control who sees your contact information.  If you use Facebook for business and for personal contacts, you can control who sees what contact information from you using your Friends Groups.  You can add multiple email address and phone contact items, then edit the custom privacy settings for each to control who sees them.

9) Avoid embarrassing wall posts.   Facebook lets you control not only who posts to your wall, but also who can see those posts.  In the Profile section you can change who posts to your wall by choosing “custom” from the “Wall Posts” drop down.  From there you can use your Friends groups to control who posts and who sees what.

10) Like your hands, keep your friends to yourself.  I love seeing who is friends with my friends, but some people don’t want to share, and in some cases, it’s probably not a good idea to share.  Once again, you can customize who can see your friends list using your friends groups.

There are endless ways to control your privacy on Facebook, but you need to take the time to sort through the settings.  Friends Grouping is a great place to start and ensures that you have separation of your business and personal contacts.  Get to know your privacy settings!!

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